The Monsters Among Us
by Doctor S.H.Winchester
Summary: Ennis Ross and David Lassiter were involved with a murder of a hunter. The hunter, Irv, was a psychopath who tried to kill them. However, now Irv's friends are in Chicago and they don't see it that way. They want revenge. Now Ennis and David are targets. Now they have to get over their differences in order to survive. The shifter and the hunter in training now work together.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm back! It's been a while, but this time I decided to finish writing the story before I started posting. It relieves the pressure on myself with school and stuff and allows the quality of the story to be so much better. This story's about the SPN spinoff that had one episode aired. I apparently was one of the only people who really liked the episode (well, the concept anyway. The acting was kind of crap). So while I was watching it the first time I was inspired and began writing. And here we are. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Ennis Ross shivered, pulling his jacket closer to his body. It was a crisp October day and the chill was certainly making itself known. Ennis reached into his pockets, fumbling around for his keys. The wind picked up, whipping his jacket from side to side. The plastic bag by his feet whipped around as well, making a plastic snapping noise. Ennis shivered once again, slipping the key into the lock and turning. The door opened, as it always did, but Ennis didn't feel a sense of relief until it was locked behind him. Ennis hadn't been the most paranoid of people, but ever since what had happened, he found himself looking over his shoulder way more often.  
The deadbolt clicked firmly behind him. Ennis leaned against the wall, breathing softly. No one lived with him, so he knew he was alone. At one time, he had hoped...but that dream had gone. It was time to move on, to put it behind. Shaking his head, Ennis walked into the small living room/office space that he had. The room, like the rest, was a bit run down, but Ennis preferred them that way. He had grown up here; this was where his father had lived. It reminded Ennis of him, and that gave him a sense of comfort.  
Ennis dropped the plastic bag onto the floor beside the desk. He looked at them for a moment, once again wondering why he even bothered to get them. The Supernatural series by Carver Edlund. Ennis had heard of the books, naturally. They had been very popular for a while and then died out. Recently, they'd been getting popular once again because of the conversion to ebooks. Ennis had seen them in the bookstore windows and in ads but he had always dismissed it as teen fiction and not worth his time. He was probably right, but now he needed to read them.  
Sam and Dean Winchester. Legends, he had found out, if you talk to the right people. The brothers had come strolling in one day, the day that changed Ennis' life forever, and had made an impression on the man. They were hunters, apparently of the supernatural. That explained the title of the book series, Ennis realized. They had walked into his life and now Ennis was determined to all the research he could. It was rather difficult. Every Google searched turned up the books as well as a murdering spree several years ago. That hadn't helped in the slightest, though it did make Ennis wonder about those two. However, they were gone and he had no idea where they went. Honestly? He kind of preferred it that way.  
Ennis had been taught many things over his life. One of them was that people learned best through experience, not just being taught. You can only be taught so much. Without the Winchesters looking over his shoulder or doing his job for him, Ennis could become a better hunter than he would have with their training. If he became a hunter, that is. The idea floated in the back of Ennis' mind like a parasite, eating away at his conscience. He wasn't sure why there was a part of him that wanted to be a hunter. The idea of killing those who had hurt him definitely appealed to the more morbid side of him that was for sure. But Ennis had always been a stand-up guy, not really embracing the dark side, so to speak.  
Ennis took the books out of the bag and laid them side by side. The covers were oddly drawn, maybe just his opinion, and the fact they were shirtless in many of them gave Ennis a feeling that he should definitely not be reading them. But if this is what it took to understand what there was out there, Ennis would do it. Not tonight though. Definitely not. Ennis needed to regain some dignity and willpower before reading those books. Ennis left the room and walked upstairs into his bedroom. The room wasn't that fancily furnished, but Ennis preferred the simplicity. The dresser held many pictures of him and Tamara.  
Ennis moved over to the bed and sat down, gazing at the pictures. He told himself he should move on and get rid of them, but every time he started to, something inside of him stopped his hands from completing the action. Someday, he would whisper to himself. Not today. Someday. There was a part of her still with him, a part that would never leave. Secretly, Ennis hoped it wouldn't. Life would be lonely without Tamara completely gone, more than it already was. Ennis rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. 5:15. Way too early to be this tired. Maybe he should start reading after all.  
There came a beep from his phone in his pocket. Ennis grabbed it and read the message. _Spotted him. Cafe Lebeau. Arrive five min. _That was all it read. Ennis glanced at the number. Unknown. Ennis breathed in, anxiety coursing through his veins. He had sent out a number to some of his closer friends who had access to the supernatural families. Most of them were reluctant friends, so Ennis hadn't had much luck, but there were some who were there for this particular reason and weren't afraid to betray them, so long as there was a decent sum of money involved. Ennis had sent out a request to those people, asking them to keep an eye out for anyone of importance to the attack. There was only one him it could be, of course.  
Ennis ran to his closet and grabbed his bag. He took out his gun and put it into the back of his jeans. Then he rushed out of the house, pulling on his jacket as he walked down the steps. Cafe Lebeau wasn't particularly fancy, so he had no idea why anyone would be over there. But if that was where he was, that's where Ennis would go. Ennis hailed a taxi and told him the address across the street, just in case. It wasn't far from Ennis' home, so he was in there in a mere fifteen minutes.  
Ennis got out and paid the driver, then crossed the street to his destination once the taxi had pulled out of sight. Mindful of the Chicago traffic, Ennis crossed the street. Luckily it was a quieter part of town, or, as quiet as it could be in the city. There weren't as many people here, despite the late hour, so there was some good in all of this. Ennis walked up the cafe and peered inside. There he was, sitting a small table in the corner.  
David Lassiter. David had been indirectly involved with the attack that had cost Tamara her life. His brother had been the one the monsters had been trying to kill. They had succeeded, but there had been collateral damage. Ennis had saved David's life later, though he sometimes wondered why. Perhaps that fact would be to his advantage here, however. Ennis walked up the hostess, gently murmuring that he was with the gentlemen in the corner. The hostess glanced over and looked back at Ennis in surprise, but nodded all the same.  
As she walked away, Ennis caught her glancing over at him multiple times, as well as the man in the corner. Perhaps David came here more than Ennis had realized. If so, this may be a little more difficult than previously anticipated. Ennis reached into his pocket and felt the knife there. The gun was still in the back of jeans, Ennis had no doubt of that, but he liked the feel of the knife. It gave him a sense of confidence and security.  
Not that Ennis had any intention of killing David. Not at all, at least, not yet. No, what Ennis wanted was information. He had done as much research as he could at home, but there was only so much the internet had on secret underground monster cults. And who better to give him information on one of the more prominent ones than the one who was the head of it? Or so, rumor said. Spies were rather useful, Ennis reflected. No wonder they were always used in stories.  
David looked up as Ennis walked over to him. A look of surprise crossed his features. _He wasn't expecting to be approached here,_ Ennis reflected. _Or, he just wasn't expecting to see me again. Either way._ "You mind if I take a seat?" he asked quietly.  
David looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Be my guest," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of him.  
"Thanks," Ennis said, sitting.  
David leaned forward. "I certainly never expected to see you again," he commented. "Why are you here?"  
Ennis hesitated for a moment. "I want information," he said slowly.  
David laughed slightly, though the sound was more bitter than amused. "Everyone wants something, don't they," he noted.  
Ennis frowned slightly. "Not all the time," he said.  
David's expressions brightened slightly. "True," he said easily. "But, I'm afraid I can't help you," he added. "I've got no information for you, though, I would love to know how you found me here. I've never seen you in here before, and I've come here for many years."  
_Damn_, Ennis thought. "It's a place Tamara and I always wanted to try," he said. The lie came easily, much more easily than he would have expected. "I decided to try it out, at least once, and then I saw you here."  
David raised an eyebrow. "I bet that's what happened," he said simply.  
Ennis shifted uncomfortably. This was not going as well as he'd planned. "What can you tell me about the families?" he asked.  
David's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?" he asked.  
Ennis shrugged. "My fiancée was killed because of you guys," he said, a hint of genuine anger coming into his voice. "Why wouldn't I want more information about it?"  
David nodded slightly, though here was still suspicion in his eyes. "I can give you the basics," he said slowly. "There's five families: werewolf, shape shifter, siren, djinn, and ghouls. They all hate each other, humans sometimes die, that's really all an outsider such as yourself needs to know."  
Silence. David's eyes, which had been friendly when they had first met, where as cold as ice now.  
"I don't think-" Ennis began, but David cut him off. "I don't care what you think right now," he said, annoyance flaring in his tone. "I think you're working with the Winchesters, or at least, are trying to follow in their footsteps, and that generally doesn't mean good things for me or my family. So, I'd suggest you turn away and go find your information elsewhere and leave us be. Or better yet, give up this foolish idea of thinking you could possibly defeat us."  
The silence was almost deathly. The other patrons in the restaurant continued eating, though all other conversation had stopped. The knife felt heavy in Ennis' pocket, though he hadn't brought it out. Ennis stood awkwardly, his mind searching for any way to make this situation better. A pit in his stomach formed when he realized there was none. Gritting his teeth, Ennis turned and walked out, David's eyes on his back the entire way.  
When Ennis exited the building, he turned around to try to peer inside, but someone had closed the blinds in the front windows so it was impossible to see what was inside. "Damn it," Ennis let out a breath, clenching his fists. "Damn it," he said again, leaning against a light that was outside of the cafe. That had failed in a spectacular way. At least he had gotten some information, Ennis thought. Now he had five different types of monsters to look up, and that was better than nothing.  
Ennis raised his hand, trying to get a taxi. All the ones that passed were filled, and the others either didn't notice him or didn't want to. Ennis briefly considered raising a hand full of money-a sure way to get service quick-but then shrugged the thought. Instead, he started jogging, burning off some of the frustration he was feeling.  
Soon enough, Ennis arrived home. There was no one around the neighborhood, a fact of which he was slightly relieved. Ennis glanced around as he walked up the steps. There was a strange feeling around this area. Ennis hurried to open the door and step inside. He quickly closed the door and bolted it shut, the familiar sense of security washing over him as he did so. He moved back outside and began to clear away the table. The new information, and what it implied, whirled through his head. Granted, there wasn't much information, but it was at least more than what he'd had an hour ago.  
Ennis headed into his bedroom. The books were sitting on his bedside table. Ennis frowned. _I left them in the office, _he thought to himself. Quietly, Ennis drew out his gun and raised it, moving slowly towards the window. He yanked it open, and peered outside. There was nothing out there, not a single sign that someone had entered the room. However, it was evidently clear that whoever the intruder was, he or she was gone. Ennis put his gun away and looked at the books. They were the same as he had left them, jammed into a plastic bag.  
Ennis rubbed his forehead, wondering why anyone would break into his house just to move a bag of stupid books from his office into his bedroom. Ennis walked out of the room and locked his bedroom door behind before checking each room in the house. As he cleared each room, he locked it with a lock that could only be opened with the key around his neck. Positive that no one could go hide in a place he had already checked, Ennis went from room to room, systematically checking everywhere. There was no one to be seen.  
Ennis sat down in a chair and placed the gun in front of him. A bag of books couldn't move on its own, but then how did they move? There is no sign of forced entry, nothing that indicates someone else was in here while I was away. Ennis wondered if there were any supernatural beings that could materialize from spot to spot. If there were, and there were any in Chicago, that would provide a reasonable explanation to the situation.  
Ennis slumped in his chair as a sudden wave of tiredness washed over him. Forcing himself up, he headed back into his room and hurriedly changed into the worn out clothes that he slept in. Ennis crashed onto the bed and was out before he had a chance to think about what had happened that day.

******  
Ennis jumped awake at the sound of banging on the door. Rubbing his eyes blearily, Ennis rolled over and glanced at the clock. 8 in the morning, it read. The book had fallen to the ground sometime when Ennis had fallen asleep reading it. Stumbling up, Ennis walked down the stairs. The pounding continued, ringing through Ennis' tired skull. "I'm coming!" he shouted, walking towards the door.  
"What the hell do you-" he yanked the door open. "Want," he finished weakly.  
There were three people standing there; one female and two male. Ennis straightened, suddenly thankful he didn't sleep naked. "May I help you?" he asked, all tiredness gone.  
"That depends," the first man said. He had blond hair that was in a buzz cut and a tattoo on his right arm, a picture of a gun. The other two wore identical tattoos in the same place.  
"We heard that there was some unusual activity going on in this neighborhood, and we decided to investigate," the woman added.  
All three of them were trouble, Ennis decided right away. There was an air about them that he didn't like, and it wasn't the way they were all dressed as if they were in a stereotypical biker's gang. There was something in the way their eyes glinted, as if there was a hardness or coldness about them that wasn't humane.  
"May I see some ID please?" Ennis asked stiffly.  
The second man chuckled. He was taller and had darker hair than his companion, though his face was close enough in looks that Ennis supposed they were brothers. "We're not cops," he said, trying to seem assuring.  
"No, I got that," Ennis told him. "I still want to see some ID."  
The woman's eyes narrowed. She had red, which Ennis had to admit, was beautiful. It was cut short, but the sunlight gleaned off of it as if it were as long Tamara's had been. The thought of Tamara snapped Ennis back to the moment, instead of letting him daydream.  
"Let me introduce myself," the first man said. He appeared to be the leader of the group. "My name is Drew Reeds, and this is my brother Charles. That there is Melissa. No relation to us in anyway."  
Ennis glanced at her. "Just along for the ride?"  
She grinned. "Something like that." Ennis winced internally. Perhaps it was her imagination, but her teeth to be a little too sharp, almost as if they were filed to look like fangs.  
"Why did you come to my house?" Ennis asked.  
Charles spoke this time. "We heard about your girlfriend," he said abruptly.  
Ennis glared at him. "Fiancée, actually," he corrected.  
Drew bowed his head. "We're truly sorry for your loss," he said. "There are horrible things out there in the world, and we'd love nothing more than to see them annihilated."  
Ennis frowned. "Well, I don't know about that," he said, uneasy. "Brought to justice, sure, but annihilated seems pretty extreme."  
"Extreme is the only way to be if you want the job done," Charles snapped.  
Ennis glanced at him again. Melissa chuckled; clearly she had a twisted sense of humor. "All right then," Ennis said. "Well, I'm not sure how I can help you folks. If you want, I can direct you to the nearest police station."  
"That won't be necessary," Drew interrupted. "We know exactly where it is," Melissa added, shooting a glare at her partner.  
Ennis watched them, his bad feeling only growing the more time he spent with these people. "Well," he began. "Have a nice day, then." Ennis started to close the door, but Charles whipped a hand out and grabbed it, holding it in place.  
"What the-," Ennis started, his hand instinctively going to the gun that he had placed on the table by the door.  
Charles merely grinned. "You have a nice day as well," he said, eyes flashing dangerously. Then he removed his hand and stepped back, his eyes never leaving Ennis' face.  
Ennis closed the door and moved to the window, standing back as to avoid being seen by them should they look this way. Drew said something as they were walking away, causing his companions to begin to laugh uproariously. Ennis didn't know what he said, but he doubted it was anything that anyone normal would find amusing. As they walked off down the road, Ennis could have sworn they knew he was watching them. That was impossible, of course, but the way they acted gave him an unmistakable feeling that there was something more to them than they were letting on.  
Ennis closed the window, locking it just in case. He was sure they wouldn't be back, at least not immediately, but to better secure himself he went around and locked every window and every door that led to the outside. He was getting way too paranoid, Ennis told himself. Still, if that's what made him feel better, he did it.  
Ennis grabbed something small to eat and walked over to his computer. He pulled up the search engine and began his morning research. Others might have called him obsessed; others, fanatic. Either way, Ennis researched anything and everything supernatural in hopes of getting as much information as he possibly could. Briefly, the idea of calling Sam and Dean crossed his mind, but Ennis dismissed it almost immediately. There was no reason to drag them out of whatever they were doing, and besides, he didn't have their number. He could probably find it, if he worked hard enough, but it was a ton of effort in order to one number which he might end up not calling.  
Ennis typed in _Drew Reeds_. There wasn't much in the initial search, but, on a whim, Ennis added the words _Hunters, Melissa, Charles_. Then he saw exactly what he wanted to see. They were allegedly from a motorcycle gang called the Defenders_._ An odd name for a motorcycle gang, Ennis thought, though he didn't have much experience with them. Apparently they had never been seen by many actually doing whatever motorcycle gangs do. According to the articles, Reeds and his gang show up when there are unusual deaths around, and then leave before the authorities discover a new body, someone previously unrelated to the case. After finding the body with a ton of evidence, the killings stop and everything turns back to normal.  
They were hunters, then. Not monsters, as Ennis' initial suspicion. He remembered Sam and Dean saying they were going to put the word out to hunters, but it was so soon. Besides, they didn't seem like the type the Winchesters would hang around with. No, either they heard about it from some other way or they were here for a different reason. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good.  
Ennis closed the laptop and grabbed his phone. Ennis wasn't in bad shape, but ever since the attack he had been exercising more, bulking up. He went for a run every morning now, something Ennis would have never thought to do in his lifetime, unless he needed to slim down for Tamara. Ennis grabbed a spare knife and slipped it into his jacket pocket, just in case. It may one day get him arrested, but Ennis never left home without a knife. A silver one, to be more specific. A regular knife wouldn't do in this town.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

David Lassiter opened the door to find his home in complete chaos. There were suitcases and briefcases everywhere, clogging the floor and any surface in sight. Thoughts of today's earlier encounter flew out of his mind. His sister was among a couple of guards who David could only assume had somehow been corralled into playing the role of the servant, ordering them about as she observed everything going on. "What the hell is going on?" David demanded as he closed the door behind him.  
Margo Lassiter glanced up at him and then turned her attention back to her work. David walked over and opened one of the briefcases. That got his sister rushing over to him. "No!" she exclaimed. "Don't touch that! Everything is perfectly organized," she gasped.  
David stepped back, raising his hands. "Since when did you become such an excess control freak as opposed to being a regular control freak?" he asked.  
Margo glared at him. "There's important documents in there that I don't need you messing up," she snapped.  
"Touchy," David noted. "Why all the packing?"  
Margo straightened, a look of importance coming onto her features "I'm going to Europe."  
"Uh, okay," David said. "Why?"  
A flash of annoyance crossed Margo's face. "Because if I'm to protect this family as I need to, there are certain connections and whatnot in Europe that I need to strengthen," she said.  
David shook his head. "Margo, we're not going to war."  
Margo rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a child," she snapped. "We need to do whatever we need to do to survive, and that's going to end up being in a way before long, whether I want it to or not."  
David's eyes narrowed. "Do you want it?" he asked.  
Margo didn't answer. Instead, she turned away and focused pack on the suitcases. "All of this needs to get loaded into the car," she said before heading into the kitchen.  
David followed her, carefully maneuvering around the obstacles. "You didn't answer my question," he reminded her.  
Margo kept her back on him. "It doesn't matter what I want," she said, her voice muffled.  
David frowned. "You do want a war," he said. "Why the f-"  
Margo whirled. "All I want is a little respect for this family," she hissed. "And if you're not going to help me get that, then stay out of my way." With that, she stormed past David. He moved aside slightly to allow her easier movement, but David was uneasy. Margo had always been headstrong, but never so far as to be bloodthirsty.  
"You've changed," he commented softly as he went back into the living room.  
"A lot has changed since you've been gone," Margo responded. The guards had taken the bags away and his sister was putting on her coat. "Before you get yourself killed," she began. "Take a breath and look around. Things aren't as they were three years ago. It would be best to learn that quickly." With a final look at him, Margo walked out and closed the door behind her.  
David didn't move for a moment. He listened to the sound of the car starting and driving away. He remembered the words his father had spoken to him when David had come back to the family: "_don't let her start a war_" he had whispered. David would never willingly let her start a fight with another family, but how was he going to stop her if she'd already started?  
David shook his head. He needed some fresh air. Knowing exactly where to go, David slipped out of the room. He went outside of the house and onto the grounds, heading for a small gatehouse on the corner of the yard. Despite hating the fact there's guards, David had to admit that sometimes they had their uses. Just like now, for example. David knocked on the door, waiting for the gruff "come in," before opening the door.  
The captain of security was standing by his desk, checking out an award of some sort on the wall. "I didn't know you qualified for any of those," David said as he walked in.  
"Ha. Ha. Ha." the captain said drily. At this moment, he was a middle-aged, gruff, slightly overweight man. He had a hard look in his eye that was offset by the laughing lines around his mouth. David looked him over. "This one's new," he said.  
The man chuckled. "Yeah, I found him over in the hospital," he said. "Guy's not going to be missed, I can tell you that much."  
The man's skin changed, molding itself into the shape of someone else seamlessly. This man was quite a bit younger, blonde, and more handsome in face than the man before him. He had a mischievous look in his eye that spelled the kind of trouble that you'd love to get into.  
The two men stared at each for a moment before simultaneously breaking out into huge grins. "David, wow, man, how long has it been?" the young man asked, clapping him on the back.  
"Three years," David responded. "You look different, Rick. Or is it Richard now?"  
Rick shook his head, shuddering. "God, no, no, no," he said, shaking his head rapidly. "No, that honor still belongs to my father, thank the Lord."  
"Old man's probably happy about that," David teased.  
"Oh, most definitely," Rick assured him. "Yeah, I'm still too wild and carefree for my father. One day, he says, one day you'll settle down and then you'll understand."  
David snorted. "You? Settle down? Yeah, and the Winchesters lived a normal happy life."  
Rick shrugged. "That's what I keep telling him, but he doesn't listen to me."  
"Smart man, smart man."  
"So, what brings you back to the old hood?" Rick asked, leaning against the desk.  
David sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's a good question," he said. "Something happened a couple of days ago, and, I don't know. I guess I didn't want to lose more of my family."  
Rick's smile faltered. "Yeah, I heard about your brother, I'm so sorry."  
David waved a hand. "Don't worry about it, he was asking for it the way he kept messing around with everyone in his sight."  
"Well, he did mess around with everyone," Rick agreed.  
"That he did, that he did," David's voice trailed off.  
There was a moment of silence before Rick cleared his throat. "Anyway, why'd you come down here to visit little old' me?"  
David flashed a grin. "What, the pleasure of your company not a good enough reason?"  
"Not even for me," Rick said.  
David waited a moment, then held up his hands. "All right, you got me," he said. "I just wanted to know, has anyone been poking around here lately?"  
Rick considered for a moment. "Anyone in particular?" he asked. "There's a lot of tourists around here, as well as the locals. Then there's the theater geeks, which is a whole different group of people in itself."  
David shrugged. "Not really, just anyone who's been around here more than usual," he said.  
Rick rubbed his chin, his brow furrowed as he thought. "Now that you mention it," he said slowly. "There was this one group of weirdoes that have been coming around more than usual."  
David straightened. "A group? Really?" Maybe there were more like Ennis than David had originally thought.  
"Yeah, two guys and a girl," Rick said. "Real badass looking types, gangster style. Lots of leather, I think they even had motorcycles one time."  
David frowned. That didn't sound like Ennis at all. "What did they look like? Hair, skin, eye color, I mean. Anything like that."  
Rick looked at him. "All three were white, the two men looked like they could be brothers. Blonde hair, though one had darker hair than the other. The woman had bright red hair. Really pretty red hair too, shined in the sun. Oh, and they all had matching tattoos," he added.  
Definitely not Ennis, David decided. "What did it look like?" he asked.  
Rick shook his head. "Sorry, man, I was too far away for that," he said. "All I know is that they all had it on their collarbone."  
David nodded. "All right, thanks," he said, patting Rick on the shoulder.  
"What are you going to do now?" Rick asked.  
"Go exploring, probably," David shrugged. "Check out the old house."  
Rick shook his head. "You're crazy, have fun with that."  
David left the guardhouse, walking briskly back towards the main building. Rick and his family had been the guards of the family for as long as David could remember. Every supernatural family had their own guards. It was better that way, for protection or some reason. David thought it was an old fashioned idea, but he had grown up with Rick and the two were fast friends, so there were perks. And it also provided an extra option when trying to sneak into another family's house. Though that was a more "unorthodox" way of looking at guards.  
David hurried up the steps. The winter was coming fast and was making itself evident in the chilly winds that blew all the time. It was only a matter of time before it started snowing. David shuddered, imaging the cold. He was more of a summer person himself. Heading inside for a moment, David grabbed his jacket and headed outside. It would do him good to go for a walk like he used to before he got sucked back into this mess of a world.  
David walked along the roadside. It was a bright day and would have been pleasant if it weren't for the temperature. There were animals out, though it was still early in the morning, relatively speaking. It was a Saturday, so there wouldn't be many people out besides health nuts who wanted to jog at eight in the morning. Who knows what his sister was doing this early. She usually took her time in the morning. Margo was well-known for not fully rising until noon.  
David spotted a small trail up ahead. There was a sign that was faded, but David could make out that it led to some special farm full of greenhouses of some sort. David considered for a moment, then shrugged. _Might as well_, he thought. David hastened his pace, almost at a jog.  
As he rounded a bend, David slowed his pace. There was a man leaning against a tree up ahead. He looked like a stereotypical motorcycle gang member. Instantly, David knew he was one of the ones that Rick had been talking about earlier. He slipped a hand in his pocket, checking to see if there was a weapon in his pocket. Thankfully, he hadn't taken his knife out from the night before. He had had it in the cafe when Ennis Ross, the fool, had confronted him. Luckily for Ennis, David wasn't like the other members of his family and was against the killing innocent humans. That was part of the reason why he'd left.  
"Hey, stranger," the man called.  
David halted, several feet away from the tree that the man was leaning on. "Hello," he called back warily. There was something about this stranger that he didn't like. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but that paranoia had saved his life on many occasions.  
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," the man said, walking forward.  
David took a small step back. "Depends on what that favor is," he answered.  
The man smiled and held out his hand. "The name's Drew," he said. "And all I want from you is the opportunity to chat for five minutes."  
David stayed where he was, but Drew walked forward and stood in front of him. "I suppose there's no harm in talking," David said.  
"Good, good," Drew said, smiling brightly.  
Off to the side, a bird shot out of a tree, cawing. David watched its progress across before looking back at Drew. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.  
Drew shrugged. "A bit of this, a bit of that," he said vaguely. "Has there been anything...odd, going on in this town?"  
David snorted incredulously. "This is Chicago," he said, half-laughing. "If there's not something odd going on, then I'd get worried."  
Drew chuckled, but it was a fake sound, without any humor in it. "I see, I see."  
David waited a moment. "Is that all you wanted to know?" he asked, hiding his impatience as best he could.  
Drew shook his head. "No, sorry, I was just thinking," he said, his eyes flickering to a point over David's shoulder. "What do you know about shape shifters?"  
David froze. "What do you mean?"  
Drew moved in closer. "You know, shape shifters," he said. "Creatures that can change what they look like at will. I'm sure you've heard of them."  
David swallowed nervously. This man was up to something, but how much did he know? "Of course I know about them," he said. "But they're mythical, not real."  
"Is that so," Drew leaned in closer. "Well, I've got an announcement for you, my friend. Those creatures, those supernatural beings you think are fake. They're real. They're out there. And they're coming for you."  
David backed up several steps, only to find something in his way. Whipping around, he came face to face with another man. This one was much taller than Drew, though it was clear he and Drew were brothers. He grinned, folding his arms.  
David turned the other way, but there was the redheaded woman in his face. They were on three sides of him and to his back David knew were nothing but trees. "Who are you people?" he gasped, pretending to be more frightened than he was.  
Drew straightened. "That's my brother Charles and our friend Melissa," he said. "We're the people who protect you from those creatures when they get in their fool heads that they can take someone and kill them for whatever god damned reason they've cooked up this time."  
_Hunters, perfect. _David glanced behind him. Thankfully, there was no other member of this crazy group behind him. Forcing himself to relax, he looked at Drew. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.  
Charles chuckled. Glancing at him, David decided that he really didn't like the big guy. Drew waved a hand. "Ignore him," he said. "We need you, friend. There aren't many people in this town who would help us, and well, we need an ally. There's no danger in it, I assure. We just want you to keep your eyes and ears open."  
David glanced around, playing it off as being scared when he was really looking for the best way out. "There's not much to it," Melissa spoke up. "Just be a little more aware, yeah?"  
David nodded. "Yeah, yeah, definitely," he said.  
As Drew turned away, a thought crossed David's mind. He reached out and grabbed Drew's arm. Instantly Charles and Melissa whirled around, knives that had been previously hidden in their hands. David backed away, hands up. "I just wanted to ask," he began. "What brought you guys here?"  
Melissa glanced at Drew and shook her head. Drew looked at her for a moment, then turned away, ignoring her hiss of annoyance. "A friend of ours was killed recently," he said. "And we're here to make sure his killers answer for what they've done."  
The crazy man Irv who had kidnapped Violet and killed Sal flashed through David's head. _Crap._ He sincerely hoped that there was someone else killed recently that had crazy hunter friends. Somehow, he doubted it. "Well, good luck with that," he said. "Have a nice day."  
Melissa's eyes narrowed at him, but she didn't say anything. As David turned to go, a hand came down on his shoulder and prevented him from moving. David didn't need to look behind him to know the hand belonged to Charles. "Take your hand off of my shoulder," David said quietly, but coldly.  
There was a pause; then the hand was lifted. David continued moving forward, abandoning all pretense of being a scared newcomer to the world of the supernatural. Let them wonder about him for a while, if only to gain time so he could figure out what to do next. David walked away, refusing to glance over his shoulder. As soon as he turned the bend, however, David shifted into someone else. There was an older homeless man sleeping in the trees not far from where David was. David changed into him, counting on the fact that the man was not likely to wake up anytime soon.  
Changed, David walked back over to where the hunters had been standing. Walking as fast as he dared so as to not gain too much attention, David strained to hear what they were talking about. "...trust him..." Charles was saying.  
"...knows more than...we should..." Melissa responded.  
"No choice...have to..." Drew hissed.  
"Irv-" Melissa started to say.  
"Irv is dead!" Drew snapped. His voice carried all along the trees.  
David turned his back away from then, leaning against a tree and shuffling his feet. Irv definitely was the friend they were talking about. That made life a lot more difficult than it had previously been. Not wanting to risk exposure, David began making his way back to the entrance of the path. They were here to avenge Irv's death that much was certain. But how much did they know about how he died? They knew about his son, most likely, since that was the reason Irv was apparently there in the first place. Why would they seek him out? It didn't seem like they knew who he was. Yet David was positive it wasn't a coincidence that he happened to walk a trail that Drew and his gang were on.  
Not for the first time, David wondered how many creatures in each supernatural family were spies. Not for other families. No one would ever help another family, no matter how badly yours betrayed you. That was unheard of, as the mutual hatred between each family ran deeper than anything else in the city. But that didn't mean the occasional wayward citizen would sell some information to hunters for a little bit of coin or to get away alive. These were troubled times, after all.  
Maybe that was how Ennis had found him last night. The cafe had been a favorite place of his to go to for many years, so it had seemed right go back there after re-joining the family he had sworn to never contact again. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later that he went there. David stopped in his tracks.  
He had allowed the homeless man to fade away into his natural form, which was a good thing as now he wasn't concentrating on how he looked and was in a much busier road. If the hunters know about me, he thought, they must surely know about Ennis, right? But it was the how was the thing that kept bothering David. No one else was there that night, no one else knew what had happened. Except for...  
David straightened, adrenaline flashing through him. Of course. The Winchesters must have sent out a message to whatever hunter community they were a part of. A city full of monsters was not something the legendary hunters were just going to leave alone. That would be crazy. They sent something out, and that had led to Drew and his gang to David's doorstep. David felt a flash of anger, though he wasn't sure why. Hunters were the same. Kill, kill, and kill. No room for mercy, even if whatever they were hunting wasn't as guilty as the ones that killed. It was shoot first ask later with the hunters, no matter what. Why would the Winchesters be any different?  
David quickened his pace, hoping he wasn't too late. He should have been back to Irv's hiding place long before now, but there hadn't been the time. His sister seemed hell-bent on a war and it didn't matter who it was with or what it was about. With the hunters in town, that could make things very bad very quickly. If David could get to Irv's hideout and hopefully get rid of enough evidence that the hunters had no way of figuring out who killed Irv, then maybe then they would vanish. Or they would take it out on anyone they could find. Hopefully, that didn't happen.  
David arrived at the entrance to the hideout much faster than he had the last time he had been here. The entrance was easily found. It was in the underground sewers, so there was a door that was remarkably worn looking. David glanced around, making sure he hadn't been followed. The last thing he would need was to be caught messing around at the hunters' friend's hideout by the hunters themselves. Reassured, David opened the door as quietly as possible and started the descent down into the place that had started it all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ennis found himself in a strange place during his walk. At first he didn't notice, too distracted by his music and simply enjoying his run, but then he started looking around. Somehow his feet had taken him to the hideout of that crazy old man. Irv, he thought his name was. Ennis had never had any intention of coming back here. Yet here he was, guided by his own two feet. Ennis picked up the pace, and sure enough, there was the entrance a few yards in front of him.  
It had been opened recently, that much was obvious. Dirt had piled around the bottom of the door, though the door hadn't been that filthy, the leaves were beginning to fall and therefore landed on the door as well. The door itself was practically clean. Someone had opened the door recently. Ennis moved closer, wondering if he should go down there. Maybe it was those hunters, which meant he should stay away. They did not seem like the kind of people Ennis wanted to get involved in.  
But maybe someone else was down there. A curious jogger, or worse, a policeman. That could mean trouble, especially since Ennis had been down there after the attack, looking at all the stuff the crazy man had put on his walls. All of those things would mean trouble for everyone if the local law enforcement came across it, especially since the monster families owned the force. Ennis hesitated a moment, then opened the door. He winced as the rusty hinges echoed throughout the tunnels.  
There was no going back now. Whoever was down there would have heard him, the only chance he had now was to find them before they found him. Moving as quickly as he dared, Ennis snuck down the tunnels, keeping to the sides. Wishing that he had brought his father's gun, Ennis took out his knife and held it in his hand, for a moment just turning it over and over and getting used to the feel of it. He was still new at this whole hunting thing, Ennis couldn't forget that. Confidence is what got many good men killed.  
There were footsteps from up ahead. Ennis glanced around and found a small alcove in the tunnel off of the one he was in. Quickly, he moved into it and pressed against the whole, praying that it was large enough to hide him. The footsteps came to where he was and paused. Ennis shifted the knife into a better position in his hands. He turned his head as much as he dared, trying to see over the wall. The footsteps started again, slowly, one step at a time. The person was trying to decide if they had seen something or not. Luckily for Ennis, that decision was apparently no, as the footsteps picked up and disappeared around the corner. Ennis let out his breath, unaware that he had been holding it.  
Ennis moved out and swiftly to the end of the tunnel. Peering around the corner in the direction the footsteps were going in, he attempted to see who the person was. It was dark in the tunnels, so he couldn't see clearly, but it was definitely not one of the three hunters. This man wasn't as tall as Charles, and skinnier than the whole lot of them. Someone new in the problem, apparently. Ennis debated going after him, then turned the other way. "Crap," he muttered to himself. He didn't want to go, but there was no way he could leave someone else just wandering around while Ennis was wandering trying to remain undetected.  
Ennis turned toward the direction the man had disappeared down. Gripping the knife, he walked as silent as he could. Ennis walked at a normal pace. He didn't want to go slow as whoever it was got away, but not fast enough that he came upon him too quickly and was unprepared himself. Unfortunately, there was one part of this that Ennis had forgotten: check the side tunnels before moving into their view.  
Ennis grunted as all of a sudden someone came from one of the side tunnels and yanked him backwards. The hand holding the knife flew upwards and his assailants' hand came to meet up. They wrested for some movements, Ennis pushing backwards until whoever it was behind him was slammed against the wall. However, his own hand's grip on the knife lessened and his enemy was able to grab it. Not for long, however. Within two seconds of holding the blade, his assailant cried out, dropping the knife. There was smoke rising from the hand that had been previously holding the knife.  
Ennis saw his advantage and took it. He rammed his elbow behind him and connected, painfully. Whoever it was behind him doubled over, and Ennis grabbed the knife from where it had fallen and whipped around. He quickly moved in front of his attacker and held the knife above his throat. The man quickly froze, pressing against the wall. "It seems to me," Ennis breathed. "That you really don't want this knife touching you." He pressed the flat side of the blade against the man's neck.  
The man's face was still in shadow, but Ennis could see him tense with the pain that followed. Ennis felt a small sense of satisfaction that he quickly squashed, nausea rolling in his stomach. He pulled the man forward, bringing his face into the light while simultaneously moving the blade forward so that it was no longer on his neck. Ennis saw his face and sneered, anger flashing through him. "You," he growled.  
David Lassiter looked back at him, defiance in his eyes, but there was still a look of pain from the knife. "Ennis," he said, though the mocking tone in his voice seemed forced.  
Ennis let go him, stepping away as David straightened, brushing himself off. "What are you doing here?"  
David shrugged. "Same thing as you, I imagine," he said. "Making sure no one comes across anything down there that would be disastrous."  
Ennis lowered his weapon hesitantly. "Why are you so concerned?" he asked.  
David glanced at him. "You've seen these gangster hunters around, I imagine, with all your sneaking about."  
Ennis frowned. "Yeah, they came to my house. What about them?"  
David raised his eyebrows. "They came to your house?" he repeated.  
Ennis shrugged. "Yeah. They said they were some sort of cops and that they wanted to help me annihilate Tamara's killer. I think they wanted to recruit me."  
"Huh. They did the same thing with me too," David said.  
Now it was Ennis' turn to raise his eyebrows. "They tried to recruit you? With you being a shifter?"  
David smirked. "I can hide who I am as easily as you hide your own secrets. Believe it or not, not many people know about our community if they're not in it."  
Ennis remembered how he'd lived in Chicago all his life with no idea. "Oh, I can believe it," he said.  
David looked at him. "Yeah. Anyway, I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. They're here to avenge Irv's death, and that includes you. Especially you, in fact."  
Ennis frowned. "The crazy guy who killed Sal and tried to kill you?"  
David nodded. "That's the one. Apparently he had some friends, though I imagine with his crazy obsession with getting revenge for his son they haven't seen him in a while."  
"Any why should I trust you?" Ennis said, raising the knife again.  
David flinched away from it. "Look, I'm involved in this as much as you. It's no coincidence they approached the both of us. And I'm sure the fact that I was there and provoking Irv makes me just as guilty in their eyes."  
"What about Violet?" Ennis asked.  
David shook his head. "She'll be fine. The werewolves are notorious about their safety measures, they won't come close to reaching her. Especially as now Julian is probably keeping a very close eye on her."  
"That's one less thing to worry about," Ennis said.  
"Mm," David agreed.  
Ennis breathed out. "So, I guess we're in this together."  
David's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't go that far, hunter boy," he said.  
Ennis raised his eyebrow. "'Boy?' We're practically the same age."  
David shrugged. "I like the ring of it."  
Ennis rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said, gesturing to the tunnel. "Let's go check out crazy Irv's ramblings."  
David fell into step beside Ennis. They stayed silent, ears pricked for any sign of the hunters. To the best of their knowledge, there was nothing there but themselves. It took them a decent amount of time to find Irv's room again. The last time Ennis had been here had been a couple of hours after they'd rescued David and Violet. This had been several days now, and David hadn't been here since the incident. Eventually they found it, however. The stairs were just as rickety as they had been the first time, a fact that Ennis didn't appreciate.  
David whistled as he walked up the boards that Irv had kept along the walls. They were something straight out of a cop show, where the cop in question had homemade murder boards at home. Strings were connecting pictures to articles, and there was a sense of disorder to it that most likely made sense to the creator. "This was one crazy man," he said.  
Ennis snorted. "You've no idea," he said. Ennis had tried to make sense of the boards when he had last been down here, but they were so jumbled that he hadn't been very successful beyond the most basic points. "Do you think your brother really killed Irv's son?"  
David frowned, looking at the picture. "I honestly couldn't say," he said. "I loved my brother, but Sal had a temper on him that got him into trouble more times than I could count."  
Ennis watched for a moment, then turned to look at the ground. There were bloodstains from when Ennis had killed Irv with a single shot to the head. "That's going to be a pain the ass to remove," he muttered to himself.  
"Hm?" David looked down. "Damn," he said. "Should have brought some supplies."  
Ennis sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We're going to have to make a run," he said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.  
"I'll go," David said. "There's a shifter who runs a place not far from here and he won't ask any questions. Give me twenty minutes, twenty five tops."  
Ennis nodded. "Hurry," he said.  
David nodded in return, then turned away and went up the stairs. Ennis watched him leave and turned away when he heard the door opening and closing. _That's really freaking loud,_ he thought before he returned to surveying the room. Thankfully, there wasn't much that needed to be cleared away. The man hadn't lived on much. There were a few blankets in the corner, a ton of fast food wrappers. With a shudder, Ennis realized that Irv had lived down here day and night. No wonder he had gone insane.  
There was the sound of the door slamming from up above him. Ennis frowned. It was too soon for David to be back with the supplies. The sound of voices came from echoing down the hall. "Are you sure this is the right place?" It was a woman's voice. It sounded remarkably like..._Crap. _  
Ennis went into hyper-drive. He threw the blanket over the wrappers and pushed them as far as he could away from the line of sight. His gaze fell onto the boards and despair filled him. There was no easy way to hide them from Drew and the rest of them. Ennis rushed over to them and began to tear everything down. He worked as quickly as he dared and as silently as he could. It wasn't very quiet, but he was counting on the hunters to be making noise as they talked to each and on being lost to buy him more time.  
He had just pulled down the last of the papers when lights began to appear from the tunnel above him. Hissing through his teeth, Ennis grabbed another blanket and threw it over the papers. He then bolted into another corner and shrank against the wall. He put his hand on his knife, though that he kept in his pocket so it wouldn't have any light bounce off of it.  
He just made it. As soon as Ennis was as far away from the line of vision of someone in the room as he could be, the familiar hulking figure of Charles appeared at the top of the stairs. "Watch," he said gruffly. "These are unstable."  
"Perfect," Melissa complained, appearing behind him. "Why are we here while Drew is relaxing back home, "investigating into matters"," she said, making air quotes.  
Charles glared at her. "Drew is the head of the team," he reminded her. "We have to follow his orders."  
Melissa met his gaze. "If you remember, I voted against his leadership, as did you," she said, sounding strangely sad.  
Charles looked away. "The past is the past," he said. "Everyone else voted for him, and he's my brother. I support him. If that means climbing down into the sewers on a wild goose chase, so be it."  
"Yeah, so be it," Melissa muttered.  
Ennis listened with fascination. This was the first time he'd ever seen signs of dissention among the group. Perhaps this could be used to his advantage in the future. He vaguely wondered if Charles had opposed his brother leadership of this gang they were talking among. A fear struck him suddenly. How many people in this group were there? Melissa and Charles were talking about it as if there was a ton of people, not just three. Maybe they were just a group who were going off to do a little side revenge, that's all. Ennis prayed it was so.  
That meant they'd have to be even more careful when all this was over. Whatever happened, word couldn't reach the rest of the hunters if anything happened to Melissa, Charles, or Drew. But nothing was going to happen to them, Ennis told himself. They were going to clear this mess up, and they'll leave town. Despite appearances, surely they were reasonable. Sam and Dean were, relatively speaking, so why not Drew?  
"There's nothing here," Melissa said, standing at the bottom of the stairs.  
Charles shook his head, pacing around the room. "There has to be," he said. "Irv told us where he was hiding out right before he died. This has to be it."  
Melissa shrugged. "Maybe he told us then cleared out as a joke. You know how crazy he was in the end."  
Charles raised his head. Ennis couldn't see his gaze, but from the way Melissa wilted under it, he imagined it was must pretty angry. "Speak with more respect to the dead," he said, his voice like steel. "He was our friend."  
"He also betrayed us," Melissa reminded him.  
Charles was silent. "He lost his son," he said quietly. "He wasn't right, we can't blame him for what he did."  
Melissa flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You may not, but I do," she said briskly.  
Charles raised a hand. "Wait," he said, his tone urgent.  
Melissa turned to him. "What?" she whispered.  
Charles pointed to the center of the room. "Do you see that?" he asked. The blood stains were shining eerily in the light of their flashlights.  
Ennis closed his eyes briefly. He opened his eyes to see Charles and Melissa crouching exactly where Irv's body had fallen. Ennis hardly dared to breathe. "Is that what I think it is?" Melissa whispered.  
Before Charles could respond, the sound of the door opening and closing came through. Dread flashed through Ennis and his blood ran cold. _David_. The shifter had no idea that Charles and Melissa were down here and Ennis had no way to warn him. The hunters stood up, their weapons appearing in their hands. Charles started forward. "I'll go check it out," he said.  
Melissa watched him leave, then resumed looking at the bloodstains. _God damnit_, Ennis thought. There goes his plan to sneak around them when they left and go meet David. Ennis was considering jumping her when Charles came stomping back. On his face was a look of annoyance, but there hadn't been any gunshots and there was no blood on him. "What was it?" Melissa asked.  
Ennis waited with bated breath. "It was a maintenance worker," Charles said. "Ugly fellow, really short and bald too. He said he had been called down to investigate the rats. Apparently they were some rabid rats going around killing each other down here."  
Melissa moved away from the bloodstains, a look of disgust crossing her face. "Well, that explains that," she muttered, wiping her hands on her jeans.  
Charles chuckled, looking at her. "A hunter, sickened by a little rat blood," he teased.  
Melissa glared at him. "It's not the blood, it's the rabies," she said. "I hate rabies."  
A person appeared at the top of the stairs. Ennis looked up in surprise. It was indeed a short, bald, man dressed in a maintenance uniform. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you two leave," he said apologetically. "Normally I wouldn't mind if you were down here, as it's none of my business, but because of the rats it a bit more unsafe than normal."  
Instantly, Charles and Melissa were all charm. "No problem, sir, I'm sorry that we got in your way," Melissa said, grabbing Charles arm. "Come on honey, let's leave the man to his work."  
"Of course, dear," Charles smiled charmingly at her then secretly rolled his eyes in exasperation at the man. The worker smiled indulgently and waited until the sound of the door closing sounded. The worker then shifted and suddenly David was standing before him. "Ennis?" David whispered, looking around. "You still here?"  
Ennis stood, ignoring the shooting pains that ran up through his legs. "Nice work," he said. "They had just discovered those when you got here."  
"I figured I might as well provide an excuse for that whether they found it or not," David grinned. "Good job clearing the place out though, I hardly recognize it."  
Ennis looked around. "Yeah, we're going to have to throw away all the stuff, just in case they come back anyway."  
David nodded. "We'll split and put it different dumpsters around the city, just to be on the safe side," he suggested.  
"Good idea," Ennis said, fingering his knife in his pocket.  
David looked down at the bloodstains. "I got the stuff we needed," he said, pulling out a can from inside his jacket pocket. "The guy said that all we need to do is spray this stuff and it'll dissolve the blood in about thirty minutes, hour at most."  
"Useful," Ennis commented. "Who is this guy?"  
David pointed a finger at him. "Now, that I can't tell you," he said, a joking tone to his voice, but his face was serious. "I'd hate to lose a valuable contact, and his anonymous status is all he asks in return for helping me out every once in a while."  
"I can't blame him," Ennis said. His father had talked about snitches, how they were willing to help so long as their name never came up ever. Ennis had wondered if he would every get any insiders when he finally graduated the police academy.  
David knelt down and sprayed the bloodstains. Ennis backed away. "Ugh, that is a god awful smell," he said, covering his nose.  
David moved back as well, wincing. "You got that right," he said, sniffling.  
Ennis moved over to the blankets that covered the papers and garbage. He gathered all the garbage into one blanket and tied it off, then handed it to David. "Take this one, I'll grab the other," he said.  
David took it. "I'll drop it off on my way out," he said. "You sure you got the other one?"  
Ennis nodded. "Definitely."  
David looked down. "Well," he began. "I guess I'll see you around."  
"Yeah, I guess so," Ennis said.  
David started to head upstairs. Then he turned around. "Let me know if they coming sniffing around again," David said, looking Ennis in the eyes. "This might not be over so easily, so we shouldn't keep the other in the dark."  
Ennis nodded. "I'll let you know."  
"Good," David said, then turned away and resumed walking away. Ennis gathered up all the papers and put them in the blanket. He followed David up and out of the tunnels, feeling relived to finally be in the fresh air again.  
When he reached the outside, David was nowhere to be seen. Ennis felt some relief. That made his next objective much easier. Ennis tied the blanket tighter and tried to make it appear decently normal. He then headed straight home, not stopping at anywhere with and dumpster. Once home, Ennis locked the door and dropped the blanket in the office. Before he opened it, Ennis went to the closet where all of his dad's old police stuff was. He looked at his father's picture, stern, but there was a kinder look in his eye.  
"I'm doing this for you dad," Ennis whispered. "You and Tamara."  
Ennis turned back to the bag and opened it. The papers spilled out all over the floor. Depositing the blanket in the trash, Ennis grabbed an old poster board that had been lying about and spread it on the floor next to the papers. Doing the best he could remember, Ennis put the papers on the poster board the way Irv had had it in the hideout.  
It took him about him half an hour before he was satisfied with the way it looked. Irv had been on to something, and Ennis was determined to figure out what. He decided not to say anything to David. He was a shifter and this was his brother, so Ennis figured that this particular investigation would threaten the hesitant alliance the two already had.  
Though gleaning information from the papers was going to be harder than it originally appeared. And it had originally appeared rather hard. Irv had even less than a system than Ennis had thought when he first saw it. It seemed like the man had just placed things wherever there was room and tried to attach it to other things with string without any order to the placement. Ennis read the articles, but there wasn't much to them. The professional ones wrote the attack off as a tragic accident, while the ones that considered the supernatural aspect were all magazines that many people dismissed upon hearing the name.  
Ennis stayed up late into the night, pouring over the papers. There had to be something here that had mad Irv so obsessive and that had caused him to call Drew and the rest here. Maybe he had really found his son's killer. Whatever the reason, Ennis was determined to find it. Even if that meant he was to stay up all night reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

David constantly glanced over his shoulder. Being followed was always something he had been paranoid about, even as a teenager. On the rare occasions David and his old friends hadn't been doing something illegal, David had still gotten the sense someone was watching them. That had been utter nonsense, of course, but there was still that odd prickling on the back of neck that said something wasn't quite right.  
David dismissed it as being worried that someone saw him dump the bag or that Melissa or Charles were there. There was no reason for the concern, he told himself. They didn't find the lair, they'll probably assume soon that Irv had gone completely crazy and leave soon. Then everything could go back to normal, warring families and other hunters trying to kill the supernatural creatures for no reason other than existing.  
David glanced towards the guardhouse as he walked up the steps. There wasn't any light in the windows, so he assumed Rick was out doing something. No matter, there were things he needed to look into anyway. David headed upstairs. Margo's room was locked, but he had expected that, so he had brought along the key he had made many years ago. It was a precautionary key; David had one for every room in the house. He didn't not trust his family, but that didn't mean he completely trusted them.  
The doorbell rang, echoing through the house. David frowned; there was no reason for anyone to be coming over. No one else was in the house; no one to invite anyone over. He pocketed Margo's key, glaring at the door. "I'll be right back," he muttered.  
David hurried down the stairs and opened the door. Instantly, he froze. Drew was standing on the front porch. "What are you doing here?" David asked.  
Drew frowned. "Well, is that anyway to greet a friend?"  
"We're not friends," David said shortly. The key felt heavy in his pocket, his hands itched to slam the door and go see what secrets his sister had been hiding.  
"Ah, well," Drew shrugged. "I want to talk to you."  
David shook his head. "Sorry, this isn't a good time. Perhaps-?"  
"I know what you are," Drew moved forward. David stayed where he was, completely still. "What?" he asked.  
"I know you're a shifter," Drew breathed, eyes widening maniacally.  
David shifted his weight uncomfortably. All thoughts of Margo's room were completely fled. "I don't know what you're talking about," he began.  
"Don't lie to me!" Drew shouted. "You're a monster, and just like the rest of them, you need to be put down."  
David threw the door closed, but Drew had hunter's instincts. He grabbed the door and pushed it open. David scrambled backward, avoiding furniture and reaching for anything that might serve as a weapon. Drew walked forward casually, mocking David. There was a fireplace in the corner and the poker was as good of a weapon as any. David grabbed it and held it out in front of him, desperately wishing he had taken some sort of self-defense class as a child.  
Drew chuckled when he saw the poker. He then slowly reached into his pocket and drew out a knife. It glinted in the sunlight from the window, and David had no doubt it was made of silver. Drew held it up, looking at it with an odd sense of longing. "It's funny," he said. "When you start out in this job, there's the human part of you that says 'killing things is wrong'. You feel guilty at first, because you monsters look like people. But then that voice is replaced by a different voice. A voice that says 'they're not human, look at them. It's a disguise'. That voice that told you not to enjoy this disappears and slowly, very slowly, is replaced by one that does enjoy it."  
"That's kind of sick," David said.  
Wrong choice of words. Drew's eyes flared in anger, something dark growing in them. "No," he spat. "_You _are sick. You are monsters, you feed on innocent people. Where is the wrong in me taking pleasure in my job?"  
"We do it to survive," David returned. "Those that do kill humans do it to live. You do it for fun. Which ones sounds worse to you?"  
Drew raised his knife, pointing it at David's chest. "You miss my point," he hissed. "_You aren't human_."  
"And by some descriptions of complete psychopaths," David whispered in return. "Neither are you."  
Drew snarled in anger. His face was lit up in anger; completely out of control. He rushed forward, slamming the poker out of David's hand. David was pushed back up against the wall against the fireplace. Drew placed the knife against David's throat. "What I wouldn't go to slit your throat," he murmured. David tried to back away, hissing as the silver burned his skin.  
Suddenly, Drew stepped away. His manner was all calm, no hint of the anger that had been there moments before. "Unfortunately, there is use for you," he said. "You could be useful. Or at least, so says my brother. He thinks you can help us understand what happened to our friend, as you were there that night."  
"So," Drew continued, stepping away and putting his knife back where he had pulled it out from. "You survive another day, David Lassiter." Drew turned back to him, looking David in the eyes. In Drew's eyes a trace of the darkness that had been there beforehand returned before vanishing completely. "But always watch your back," he said softly. Then Drew turned away and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.  
The sound echoed in the empty house. David rubbed his throat gently. This was the second time in the same day that someone had held a knife to him. "I've got to stop letting that happen," he whispered to himself.  
Drew was a madman. A fact which didn't separate him from the rest of the hunter community in the slightest. David groaned, rubbing his forehead. And a madman didn't rest until he got what he wanted. Which meant that if he knew that David had been there when Irv was killed, that meant that they must know that Ennis was there. And Ennis had already said that they had been to his house. Which meant they knew where he lived. This was going to be very bad.  
David hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his jacket. "I'm going to regret this," he muttered to himself. David quickly ran upstairs to his bedroom and ran to the bedside table, grabbing the knife he always kept their as a precaution.  
David went out of the back door, cautious that Drew might still be around the corner. Who knows what insane men do when they forget their sanity? David hurried his pace, taking the back fastest back roads he knew. When he caught sight of Ennis' house, David broke into a run. As he ran up the steps onto the porch, David quickly glanced around. At first he didn't see anything, but as he turned away a shadow stepped out from the house across the way.  
"God," David breathed. He knocked rapidly on the door. "Ennis!" he called as loud as he dared. "Ennis! Open up now!"  
David rapped again, internally damning the man for not opening the door faster. The shadow across the way began to walk towards him slowly. David increased the pounding on the door. "Damnit, Ennis, open this door now!" he yelled.  
Suddenly the door was no longer supporting him. Ennis stood in its place, a look of anger on his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he roared.  
David pushed him out of the way and slammed the door shut, looking at the lock system. "The hell..." he muttered. "Paranoid, aren't we?"  
"Because of events like this, yeah," Ennis said sarcastically. "Now, what the hell are you doing?"  
David turned around to face him. "The gang," he said. "They're after us."  
Ennis looked at him. "What?"  
David sigh exasperatedly. "Drew," he hissed. "Drew and the rest of his psychopaths, they know we were there. They somehow knew where I lived, and Drew almost killed me. They know we were involved and they'll do anything to get answers."  
Ennis turned away, running a hand over his head. "God," he muttered. "Why the hell did you come here then?"  
David blinked. "What?" he asked.  
Ennis turned to him, anger flaring in his eyes. "Why did you come here?" he repeated, his voice rising in anger. "You led them straight here, they might not have known we were there together!"  
David opened his mouth, this hesitated. Ennis noted. "Yeah," he said. "You didn't even think of that. Well, thanks, for telling them."  
"Hey!" David snapped, storming up to him. "I could have left your sorry ass to rot. I was attacked in my own home, probably was going to be killed if it weren't for the fact they don't know shit about what's going on. The thought to run didn't occur to me. Instead, I thought to come here and save your ass from getting killed. I'm sorry, next time I'll be a little less considerate and just save my own hide."  
Ennis was silent. Then: "...thanks," he muttered, barely loud enough for David to hear.  
"Don't mention it," David said.  
Ennis moved over to the window. "We have a problem," he said, gesturing for David to join him.  
David moved over the window, taking Ennis' place. "Crap," he murmured.  
Drew and the rest of his gang was standing across the road, just barely in the light of the streetlights. From what David could see, all three of them were loaded with all kinds of weapons. While silver ones were the only ones able to affect David, all of them were lethal to Ennis.  
"Is there a back door?" David asked.  
Ennis nodded. "I know a place to hide out," he said. "No connection to me, paper or electronically."  
"Perfect," David said. "How far away is it?"  
Ennis frowned. "That's the problem. It's about a mile or two out from this house."  
A shout came from outside the house. "Come out and no one gets hurt," Charles called. "We're happy to wait as long as you need."  
Ennis ran up the stairs, calling over his shoulder: "Distract them!"  
"It shouldn't be too long, though," Drew added. "Some of us are more impatient than others."  
David went up to the window. "And if I'd rather stay in here?" he called out.  
There was a note of unmistakable glee in Drew's voice as he responded. "Then I guess we'll have to come in and show you your mistake."  
"Naturally," David said, walking away.  
"You have ten minutes," Melissa finally called.  
David turned as Ennis came pounding down the stairs. "Come on," he said, throwing a bag at David. He caught up, noting it was surprisingly light for its size. "All the supplies we'd need getting there," Ennis explained.  
David nodded, shrugging it over his shoulder. "We have ten, let's go," he said.  
Ennis nodded in return. He waved a hand to indicate David should follow him, then moved towards the back of the house. Ennis glanced out the window on the back door, then opened it as quietly as he could. "Go," he whispered.  
David walked out quietly. He stepped down the porch steps and hid in the shadows while Ennis closed the door. Then Ennis moved down the stairs. They froze as the wood creaked, the sound seeming to echo in the darkness. There was a small shout from the front of the house. "Run!" Ennis hissed.  
David and Ennis ran. Not caring for stealth, they ran as fast as they could. The sounds of pursuit came from behind them. They were crossing the boundary of Ennis' yard when a shape came out from the shadows. It hurled itself into Ennis, tackling him to the ground. They wrestled on the ground while another shape came roaring in David. Prepared, he dropped onto the ground and rolled out of the way. He ended up to where Ennis was whoever he was wrestling were. David pulled out his knife and prayed he wouldn't miss. Ennis was on the bottom and David stabbed where the person on top would be.  
As he did so, the shape that had come at David appeared again, knocking his arm. The blade slipped, landing away from the intended area of target. There was a gasp of pain that sounded feminine. Relief took a moment to go through David; that meant it wasn't Ennis he had accidentally hit. The relief was short lived as David's attacker made himself known again.  
The attacker threw himself on top of David, his hands surprisingly empty. Those hands made their way to David's neck. David grinned for a moment, relishing the moment. Then he shifted. The teenager he shifted into was very skinny, very lanky. So lanky that the hands suddenly found themselves not holding anything at all. David forced his head out of the grip, then resumed his normal shape. He stood up, looking down at the confused person beneath him. David slammed his foot down on his back, causing the person to collapse on the ground. In the dim moonlight, he could make out that it was Drew. "How about that, bastard," he whispered. Ennis was struggling to his feet as well, his assailant, Melissa, clutching her side.  
There was the sound of two gun reports through the night. David felt pain explode in his side. Ennis hit the ground as well, yelling in pain. Charles. There was a third hunter. In the chaos, David had forgotten all about him. Charles shouted something in the night, probably his brother's name, or maybe Melissa's. It was hard to tell through the agony.  
David forced himself to his feet. Ennis was doing the same, clutching his arm to his chest. There was a gun in Ennis' hand, presumably from Melissa. Ennis fired a shot in the direction that the two previous shots had come from. There was a shout. David moved forward, Ennis grabbing his arm. "Can you run?" Ennis shouted in his ear.  
"As if my life depended on it, can you?" David responded.  
"Of course," Ennis responded wryly.  
The pair took off running. This time, there were no random shadows coming out from the darkness. There was a strangled out shout of "follow them!" from behind David, but the voice was unrecognizable. There was nothing to do but run.  
David wasn't sure how long they were running for, but it was a while. Long enough for the neighborhood to fade into a new one that was even more obscure. There were only houses every ten yards or so, much more spread out than the neighborhood before. Eventually, they began to slow down.  
"Are you all right?" David asked, looking at Ennis' arm.  
"I'll be fine," Ennis muttered.  
"Ever been shot before?" David pressed. Ennis glanced at him incredulously. "Didn't think so."  
"Your side doesn't look too good," Ennis said, looking at David's wound. "It looks pretty serious, actually."  
David shrugged. "It was a normal bullet," he explained. "Not silver, so I'll be fine. It just hurts like hell."  
"Well, that's good," Ennis said.  
"Yeah." They fell silent for several more minutes.  
It was a nice night, relatively speaking. It was a bit cold, but the wind wasn't blowing so it wasn't anything that was hard to deal with. "How far out are we?" David asked.  
"Not long now," Ennis said, checking his watch. "We made good time."  
"I was on the track team in middle school," David commented.  
"Same," Ennis said.  
"Only sport that didn't get your ass kicked in the middle of it," David said lightly.  
He was surprised to hear a small chuckle coming from Ennis. David grinned slightly in return, then they fell silent. They continued the silence for the rest of the walk. There was nothing much to say.  
It was another half hour or so before Ennis pointed out the house they were going to stay in it. The first word that came to David's mind upon seeing it was _small_. There was no other way to describe it. It looked like a one room house with no yard to be spoken off. The rest of it was just woods for miles and miles. "Home sweet home," Ennis commented.  
"Did you ever live here?" David asked.  
"When I was a kid. When my younger sister was born we had to move out, but my mother never sold the house. Her last name is different from mind, though, no one would think to connect her to me. Don't worry, people have tried," Ennis added.  
"Huh. Troublemaker as a child?" David asked.  
"Something like that."  
David followed Ennis up the stairs. He glanced around. There was something eerie about being in the middle of the woods, without out any outside contact. Even though, according to certain parties, he was the monster that hunted those alone in the woods.  
David shook his head, banishing the thought. Ennis was reaching into his bag and pulling out what looked like a lock picking kit. "Don't have a key?" David asked.  
Ennis shook his head. "Was never any need for one, I hated this place."  
"And now you're back," David said.  
"And now I'm back," Ennis agreed.  
The door creaked open, surprisingly quiet in the night. Another surprise was the fact the electricity still worked. "Huh," Ennis muttered. "Mom must have been coming up here on those weekends she disappeared, or something."  
"Do you think she'll still be coming?" David asked.  
"Doubt it, she's gotten way older now, rarely leaves the house," Ennis said.  
"Well, that's good at least," David said. "Wouldn't want her getting dragged into this mess."  
"That's for sure," Ennis muttered.  
David looked around the room. There was a small room off the main one that wasn't visible from the front, which turned out to be a bedroom. There was an even smaller room off of that that was the bathroom. In the main room there was a small kitchen area on the side of the wall. The paint was in good shape, not peeling or anything. The entire room was covered in dust, however. It was clear that while the room had been taken care of for a while, no one had been here in a long time.  
"It's quaint," he said.  
"If that's how you want to describe it," Ennis said. He dragged his bag over to opposite wall and dumped it down. "Might as well get some sleep, we can use it," he said.  
"Still need to take care of your arm," David pointed out.  
Ennis merely grunted in return. Looking in his own bag and finding a hunter's first aid kit, David grabbed the tools needed. "Luckily, the bullet went all the way through," he said.  
"Just give me the damn bandages," Ennis said.  
David handed him the bandages. Ennis bound his wound, occasionally hissing in pain. "I'd offer some alcohol, but there doesn't appear to be anything here," David said, glancing at the refrigerator.  
Ennis shook his head. "I don't drink," he said.  
"Huh," David said. "I didn't think you would be the type."  
Ennis grunted. "You'd be surprised."  
David nodded. "I'll bet."  
There came a creaking sound from outside. David shot to his feet, gesturing for Ennis to stay down. David crept over to the window, pulling back the curtain. There was a figure standing on the porch, holding what appeared to be a duffel bag. A bag that could carry all kinds of weapons. "Crap," David muttered.  
"What is it?" Ennis whispered.  
"There's a man out there," David whispered, moving to crouch beside Ennis. "He has a duffel, but I don't know what's in it."  
Ennis reached into his bag and pulled out a gun. He handed it to David, then pulled out another. "We're going to have to fight," he murmured.  
David nodded, accepting the gun. "It's only one guy, should be all right," he said half-heartedly.  
"Definitely," Ennis whispered.  
The door began to open slowly. David and Ennis moved as far back as they could and readied their guns. The man walked it, his back to them. Just from his posture, they could tell it wasn't Drew or Charles. It was someone else entirely. The man muttered to himself as he put the bag down by the door. Then he turned around.  
Instantly there was a gun in his hand. Ennis moved forward. "You're outnumbered," he said.  
The man looked at him, a look of shock coming across his face as if he hadn't heard him. "Ennis?" he gasped.  
Ennis frowned. David looked at him. "Do you know this guy?" he asked.  
Ennis shook his head. "Never seen him before in my life," he said slowly.  
"Ennis, it's me," the man said, pleading. "I know I look different, but it's still me, son."  
Ennis froze. David watched as the color drained from his face. "Dad?" he whispered. "You're supposed to be dead."  
"Yeah, that's not entirely true," the man said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ennis didn't move. He couldn't believe it. His father had been dead for almost ten years. There was no way that this man standing in front of him with a gun in his hand could be his father. But now, Ennis began to see it. The way the man stood, the way he held his gun. It was all familiar. The same way his father used to carry is police issued weapon.  
"Ennis?" he heard David murmur from his side. Ennis barely heard him. The blood was rushing to his head.  
"No," he heard himself say. "No, it's impossible, you're dead. You're supposed to be dead!"  
"I'm sorry, son," his father said. "I had to do what I had to do."  
"Bullshit," Ennis whispered. "This is bullshit. You're not my father."  
The man in front of him lowered his gun, putting it in a holster on his hip. "It's me, son," he said hoarsely, tears glistening in his eyes. "I swear upon everything this world has to offer. I am your father."  
He stepped forward, but David raised his gun, pointing it directly at the man's heart. "Stay back," he snapped.  
The man raised his hands up. "Ennis, please," he begged, his eyes never wavering from Ennis' face. "Look at my face. You know it's me."  
"Ennis, this is your call," David said.  
Ennis didn't respond. The facts of his eyes were corresponding with the facts that he knew. His father was killed in the line of duty. His mother hadn't allowed him to see the body, what little there was of it. There hadn't been a wake or anything. Just a small burial behind a small church in their small town.  
Ennis realized he had stopped breathing. He forced himself to draw in a breath, in and out, slowly. "Put down your gun, David," he whispered.  
David looked at him. "Put it down," Ennis repeated, more firmly this time.  
David nodded, then lowered his weapon. He slipped it in the back of his jeans, but his eyes were watching Ennis' father, making it clear he didn't trust him.  
"Thank you," the man said, a smile breaking out on his face.  
"I didn't do it because I believe you," Ennis said. "I did it because I didn't want to have to shoot and waste a bullet."  
The man's smile faded. "Michael Ross," Ennis said slowly. The first time he had ever called his father Michael. "My father. You faked your death. That's the only explanation. Why the hell would you do it? Why would you do that to us?"  
"I had my reasons," Michael said, his voice surprisingly firm. "I won't apologize."  
"Good," Ennis said. "I won't forgive."  
David turned and spoke quietly enough that Michael couldn't hear. "If he found us, others will."  
Ennis nodded. "How did you find this place?" he asked, turning his attention back to his father.  
"I used to live here," Michael reminded him. "Plus I kept tabs on all of you, making sure you were safe."  
"Lot of good that did," Ennis muttered.  
"I couldn't interfere as much as I wanted," Michael snapped.  
"It doesn't matter," David cut in. "We have more important business."  
"Yes, I agree," Michael said, glancing at him. "Such as why my son is hiding in an abandoned house with what looks like a bag full of weapons and supplies."  
"It's a long story," Ennis muttered.  
Michael watched him, eyes narrowed. "God damnit," he swore. "You're a hunter. You got involved. Damnit, Ennis, why?"  
The other two were visibly startled by his words. "How do you know about hunters?" David asked.  
"Because he's a hunter too," Ennis said slowly. "That's why he faked his death."  
"The life of a hunter is dangerous," Michael said. "I couldn't let you get involved."  
"Once again, a lot of good that did," Ennis said snidely.  
"So, you're a hunter," David said. "Perfect."  
"And what are you?" Michael asked, glancing at him. "A hunter too?"  
"Something like that," David shrugged.  
"How did this happen?" Michael asked. "What caused you to find out? And then choose to become one of us?"  
Ennis' gaze darkened. "I lost someone," he said shortly.  
Michael was silent. "I'm sorry," he said. "That didn't mean you had to join the life."  
"No," Ennis said evenly. "But I wanted to."  
Michael stared at his son, speechless. The horror was clear in his eyes. Ennis met his gaze. "I don't regret my decision," he said.  
Ennis turned away and walked over to where David was standing. "We can't stay here," he said.  
"Didn't think so," David muttered. He leaned down to grab the bag. He winced, putting a hand to his side.  
Ennis grabbed his arm. "Isn't it supposed to be healing?" he asked.  
"The process might just be a bit slow," David muttered.  
"What's going on?" Michael called from the door.  
"None of your business," Ennis responded. The last thing he would need was his father trying to kill David because of his hunter nature.  
Michael took a couple steps forward. David moved away from him as Ennis held up a hand. "Stay where you are," he hissed.  
"Is he injured?" Michael asked.  
"Just stay where you are," Ennis repeated.  
He turned back to David. The shifter had turned his back to Michael, obstructing his view. He lifted the bottom of shirt to uncover the wound. Ennis reached forward, wincing as his own wounded was irritated. "Something's wrong," he muttered. The hole was still bleeding slowly. The flesh around it was a shade of purple, veins pronounced.  
"The bullet should have been expelled as the flesh reformed," David murmured.  
"Why isn't it?" Ennis asked, putting aside his wonder and slight jealousy of self-healing.  
"I'm not sure," David said. "The only thing that I can't heal from is silver, but that's only if it's a fatal shot."  
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Michael asked.  
"I thought I told you to stay away," Ennis said, irritation clearly showing.  
"I don't take orders from my son," Michael said. He moved closer, eyes widening as he did so.  
"The hell? That shouldn't be happening..." Michael muttered. "Unless..."  
Michael whipped out his gun. In the same instant, Ennis had his up. "Ennis," Michael hissed. "Back away from him."  
David leaned against the wall, suddenly growing pale. "I'm not..." he muttered.  
"Ennis, move away now, and put down the gun," Michael commanded.  
"No," Ennis said.  
"Ennis, I don't think you understand," Michael began, but Ennis cut across him: "No. I understand perfectly."  
Ennis turned his back on his father and looked at the wound again. He could make out the shape of the bullet inside of the hole. "We're going to have to dig it out," he said, feeling sick inside.  
"Fantastic," David muttered.  
"Here, I got the equipment in my bag," Ennis said, reaching for it. When his hand only met air, he looked around. The bag was no longer where he'd left it. "What the hell-Dad!" he exclaimed.  
Michael had grabbed the bags and held them gripped tight in one hand, his gun still pointed at David. "Ennis, that's one of them," he insisted.  
"No shit," Ennis said. "Give me my bag, now."  
"You know," Michael asked incredulously.  
"Yeah," Ennis said. "We're kind of traveling together, I definitely know."  
"And no," he added as he walked over and grabbed the bag from his stunned father's hand. "I'm not going to kill him."  
"Hey, that's a relief," David said.  
"Shut up," Ennis said.  
As he walked past, Ennis grabbed the gun from his father's other hand, which had not budged from its position in the air. "And I'm not going to let you kill him either," he added.  
David had taken a seat against the wall, his gun in his free hand while the other one was pressed against his side. The gun was simply resting in his hand, but his eyes were trained on Michael, strong despite the pain in them. Ennis reached into the bag and grabbed the supplies. ignoring the fact that he had never done this before, Ennis crouched at David's side. He readied the tools, making sure his breathing was steady before lowering his hands.  
David drew in a hissing breath as Ennis began to dig. Ennis blinked the sweat out of his eyes. His hands were shaking, he realized. Finally, Ennis found the bullet. "I got it," he said, relief coursing through him.  
"Thank god," David muttered.  
Michael realized his father had come to stand behind him. He watched with an unblinking gaze. Pushing the distraction out of his mind, Ennis pulled in another deep breath. Slowly, he began to pull the bullet out. David closed his eyes, but otherwise didn't make a sound.  
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the bullet cleared the flesh. The pair released a simultaneous breath of relief. Ennis dropped the casing on the floor, unsure what to do with it. Before he could do anything, Michael reached down and snatched it. He walked over to the light and inspected it closer. Ennis helped David up, who was already gaining much color and strength. They watched as the hole in David's side slowly began to close. "Lucky bastard," Ennis noted.  
"You've no idea," David said.  
"Silver," Michael muttered.  
The other two turned to him. "What?" Ennis asked.  
"Silver," Michael repeated. "It's a regular bullet on the outside, but on the inside it's filled with silver."  
David curled his lip in distaste. Ennis frowned. "How do you even make a bullet like that?" he asked.  
"A ton of skill, or witchcraft of some sort," Michael told him.  
"Awful lot of effort for a single bullet," Ennis said.  
"Worth it if you're end up killing what you're after," Michael said. "It disguises the feel of the bullet until it's too late."  
"Nasty piece of work," David muttered.  
"Very useful," Michael countered.  
David narrowed his eyes at him. Ennis interrupted before they could start truly fighting: "we need to get moving," he told David.  
"Yeah, since our safe house is suddenly not so safe," David agreed, casting a glare in Michael's direction.  
Michael frowned. "Why are you running?" he asked.  
"Psycho hunters," David said. "I mean, regular hunters."  
Michael raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything. "There was a friend of this group of hunters that was killed, and they think we had something to do with it," Ennis explained further.  
"Who?" Michael asked.  
Ennis shrugged. "Some group of hunters led by a guy named Drew."  
"Interesting," Michael said, eyes glinting in the light. "And did you?"  
Ennis shrugged. "Who knows," he said.  
Michael frowned, knowing they weren't telling him everything, Ennis supposed. Didn't matter. It was a bit too much of a coincidence that Michael had showed up here of all nights after no one coming while they were on the run from Drew. It would be just like Drew to have a secret move planned like this. It paid to be careful, anyway.  
Ennis grabbed the bags and handed one to David. He looked at his father. "Good-bye, I guess," Ennis said, feeling very awkward.  
"Hell no," Michael said. "You're not going anywhere without me. I found you, and I'm not going to abandon you again. Especially not if you have hunters on your ass."  
"I don't think that's such a good idea," David spoke up.  
"Too bad, no one was asking," Michael snapped.  
"Hey, watch it," Ennis said, glaring at his father.  
"Look," Michael said, spreading his hands pleading. "Let's evaluate here. I am the more experienced here, we have a yet unnamed monster-" David snorted - "and an inexperienced hunter. You need me."  
"We'll do fine on our own," Ennis cut in. He hated to admit it, but there was something wrong with his father. Ennis didn't know what, but his gut was telling him something was up. The way his interested had piqued at Drew's name. No, something wasn't right at all. A glance at David told Ennis that he felt this way too, though that could be because the shifter distrusted anyone who wanted to kill him. With good reason, Ennis supposed.  
Michael snorted, all of a sudden his entire demeanor changing, becoming much darker. "Suit yourselves," he said. "But don't come running to me begging for forgiveness when he betrays you," Michael spat, pointing at David. Then all of a sudden, Michael was outside with the door slamming shut behind him.  
"Well," David said. "No offense, but your father's an ass."  
"I don't remember him being like that," Ennis muttered. "He was a good father."  
David shrugged. "A child's view is different than an adult's," he said simply.  
"Yeah, I guess so," Ennis said. "Anyway, we should get going. I don't trust him at all, and that means we should get out of here."  
"I can agree with that," David said, grabbing the bags.  
They exited the house less than five minutes later. Ennis had a strange sense of guilt about him; his thoughts kept returning to his father. Even though there was something off about him, and Ennis stuck by his decision, that didn't mean that the guilt of turning away his father who he had thought dead for years would rest easy.  
"Where are we going to go now?" David wondered aloud.  
"Somewhere they wouldn't expect us to go," Ennis said, his brain going through all possible options.  
David glanced at him. "I'm not going to like this, am I," he said to himself.  
"We need to go to Irv's place," Ennis concluded.  
"Didn't think so," David said.

"This is even more eerie and depressing than the last time we were here," David noted.  
"Probably because now it's been a safe house, same as it was to Irv," Ennis commented.  
"Ugh," David groaned. "Let's just pray we don't end up as crazy as that poor bastard."  
"Let's hope," Ennis agreed. He dropped his bag in the corner where he had once hid from Charles and Melissa. Seemed like ages ago, he reflected.  
"Right, so, we can't stay in here forever," David said bluntly. "Unfortunately, I have a family who sometimes wants me gone and I don't like to give them that satisfaction, and I know you have your own life you want to get back to."  
"We're going to have to go after Drew," Ennis said.  
"Figured," David said. "What's the best way to get rid of a psycho hunter?"  
"Kill him," Ennis said quietly.  
There was a pause. "Okay," David said. "That's a bit grim. Thorough and effective, but grim all the same."  
"We have no other choice, it's them or us," Ennis pointed out.  
"Are you sure we couldn't just lock them up somewhere, or force them to leave, get them in trouble with the law.." David's voice trailed off.  
Ennis shook his head. "We can't drag anyone else into this," he said firmly. "They don't hesitate to kill us, why would they bother hesitating to kill anyone who helps us?"  
"What about someone they can't kill?" David said.  
Ennis stared at him. "I'm fairly certain they can kill anybody, David," he said.  
David shook his head. "They're hunters," he said. "They kill monsters. It's part of their pact to not kill civilians."  
Ennis was already shaking his head. "No," he said firmly. "No way."  
David frowned. "I wasn't even finished!"  
"There is no way we're involving civilians," Ennis said.  
"Not random civilians, no, who do you take me for?" David asked. "No, people who were trained for this kind of thing."  
"The police?" Ennis raised his eye. "I'm trying out for the Academy, and I know they're bought by one of the monster families."  
"Supernatural," David cut in. "We don't like the term 'monster'. Anyway, not the police per say."  
Ennis felt a growing feeling of despair when he realized what David meant. "No way. No way, they'd never help us."  
"They might!" David insisted.  
"David, hunters aren't going to help us kill their own," Ennis pointed out. "It doesn't work like that."  
"Not kill them, forget all about killing them," David said. "What is we say they've gone crazy and attacked or something, and, knowing about the supernatural world, we came to them for help."  
"And how do we explain the fact you're a shifter?" Ennis asked, folding his arms.  
"We don't," David said. "Just make sure there's no silver touching me, and I'm as normal as you are. They won't know unless we tell them."  
"They're hunters, they'll find out," Ennis stated.  
"Then we hightail it out of there before they realize, or you go in by yourself," David said flatly. "Your choice."  
Ennis was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Fine. Your head be on it!"  
David shrugged. "If it goes bad, it probably will be, literally."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

David shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. He and Ennis were standing in front of a house that, according to Ennis, belonged to an Aaron Brook. Apparently he was a hunter who had been working to job for many years, and was famous for his stick-to-the-rules attitude. Hopefully, that meant hunters terrorizing civilians broke that rule and got him just pissed off enough to get Drew off their backs.  
"Relax," whispered Ennis.  
"I'm the one who's being attacked by these in this story," David muttered back. "I think I have the right to be a little nervous, in real life and not."  
Ennis glared at him for a moment before raising his hand and knocking on the door in front of them. The seconds seemed to drag on. David concentrated on keeping his breathing steady, ignoring his instincts to run at any sign of hunters. Drew was insane, that was easier to deal with. But going to a hunter, on purpose, trying to fool him, when he never would have been involved in the first place? Not one of David's better plans. But David would never admit it to Ennis. It was hard enough getting to agree to this plan in the first place.  
They hadn't been allowed to bring any weapons either. Beyond a single gun and a knife, civilians who had been attacked by hunters wouldn't be carrying a whole arsenal with them along with the special ingredients to get rid of the nastier creatures. David had with him a regular steel kitchen knife, while Ennis was carrying the gun. It didn't reassure either of them as much as both of them let on.  
The rest of their stuff was still at Irv's hiding place. David only hoped that Drew and his gang didn't go back there and find everything. That would make the whole situation a ton more complicated than it already was.  
There was a vibration in David's pocket. Both of them jumped in surprise. David drew out his phone, glancing at the ID on the screen. Richard. Why was he trying to call? David blocked it and the returned the phone to his pocket. Ennis glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in a question. David shook his head just as the door opened. An older man, probably in his fifties, was standing there. He wore a plaid shirt and jeans, and a gruff look about him. "What can I do for you?" he asked, surprisingly in a clear English accent that contradicted the look about him.  
"Are you Aaron Brook?" Ennis asked.  
"I am," the man said.  
"We need your help," David blurted out.  
Aaron glanced at him as Ennis shot him a look and raised his hand. "I can handle this, David," he said.  
"What do you need my help with?" Aaron asked, something in his eyes lighting up. Probably the idea of a hunt exciting his hunter's instincts.  
"Well, this is kind of awkward, actually," Ennis said hesitantly.  
"Why don't you two come in?" Aaron interrupted, holding the door open.  
"Thank you," Ennis said, gesturing for David to go in first.  
David held his breath as he passed through the doorway. They were in. Now came the difficult part. There was a rug directly after the door inside the house. David noted how Aaron watched them both walk over it and then turned away once they had walked over it. The rug was probably hiding something important. Maybe a trapdoor or symbol or something. David didn't know the ways of the hunters.  
"Please, have a seat," Aaron gestured to seats at the kitchen.  
"Thanks," Ennis said, taking the seat opposite of Aaron. David sat down to the side of both of them.  
Aaron grabbed three beers from the refrigerator and placed them on the table in front of his guests. "Now," he said, taking his seat. "What can I help you with?"  
"Well, we're from Chicago," Ennis began, leaning forward. "And, well, I don't know how to say this..."  
"We were attacked," David cut in.  
"By what?" Aaron asked.  
"Humans," Ennis said. "Assholes," muttered David.  
Aaron looked at the both of them. "And what makes you think that I could help? Why not go to the police?"  
"Because..." Ennis said hesitantly. "They said your name."  
Aaron grew silent. His face revealed nothing, but David could tell his mind was working out the details. Or, the false details.  
"My friend here," Ennis said, gesturing to David, "was walking to my house one evening, when all of a sudden these three assholes, one female, two male, come out of nowhere and jump him. I was walking out to meet him when it happened, so I heard the commotion. I run over, yelling, I had a knife in my hand, they scattered. As they were running off, I heard one of them shout to the other: 'we can't let Aaron Brook find out about this!' So, once David had recovered, we decided to give you a chance before going to the police."  
Aaron sat back in his chair. His face remained expressionless, but David could see the anger lines by his eyes. "That was quick thinking your part young man," he said to Ennis.  
"I'm enrolled in the Police Academy, I know how to think on my feet," Ennis said.  
Aaron nodded, then looked over at David. "How is your recovery?" he asked.  
"I'm fine now," David said, inclining his head.  
"That's good, that's good," Aaron said softly. "Well, I'm so sorry this has happened gentlemen. I believe I know who you are talking about, and I assure you, I will make sure it doesn't happen again."  
"Thank you," Ennis said, rising, David rose as well; however, he remained silent.  
Aaron walked them to the door. He reached out a shook Ennis' hand, then when Ennis moved away held out his hand for David's. "I'm truly sorry my colleagues attacked you," he said.  
"Yeah, well, me too," David took his hand. Instantly, he regretted it. Aaron had a silver ring on his hand, and the metal seared into David's skin. Desperately, David prevented himself from flinching. Aaron looked into his eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
David shook his head. "Yeah," he muttered, quickly withdrawing his hand. "Just memories, sorry."  
"No, I understand completely," Aaron said.  
David nodded and then walked out the door and joined Ennis, who was waiting outside.  
"What was that?" Ennis asked as they began to walk away.  
"He was wearing a ring made of silver," David muttered.  
"Crap," Ennis whispered.  
"I don't think he noticed," David said.  
"Yeah, we better hope so, otherwise this whole plan is blown," Ennis said.  
"I don't think he did," David said firmly.  
"We'll soon find out," Ennis said darkly.

******

David hurried down the steps in their hideout. "We need to figure out a name to call this place," he called.  
"We're not going to be staying here for long," Ennis called back. "What's the point?"  
"Well, you know," David dropped the plastic bag of nonperishables by Ennis' feet. "In case we ever have an emergency and need to go into hiding or whatever. Kind of like a code word."  
"I don't think we'll be having anything happening like this again," Ennis said dryly.  
"Well, if you're going to continue to become a hunter, you might want to consider it," David said quietly.  
Ennis glanced at him, but didn't say anything. "Yeah, I don't know about that," he muttered.  
David didn't respond to that. It was none of his business, so he didn't pry. "How long do you think it'll take for Aaron to talk to Drew?" he asked instead.  
"Who knows," Ennis shrugged. "A day or so, to give them time to leave. The only thing I'm worried about is that when Aaron confronts them, they'll deny the story."  
"Hopefully, he'll be too pissed to believe them," David said.  
"Yeah, hopefully. And also we hope that his hunter instincts weren't as on point as normal and didn't notice you were hurt by silver."  
"Yeah, that too," David muttered.  
"So, what are you going to do now?" Ennis asked.  
David glanced at the bags that he had brought. "First, eat the food," he said pointedly.  
Ennis chuckled. "That's a good plan," he admitted.  
They knelt to get the food, but before David could get anything, the sound of the door opening echoed throughout the tunnels. "God damnit, not again," Ennis groaned.  
Ennis grabbed the bags and shoved them into a corner. Footsteps sounded heading towards the tunnel. "Hurry," David hissed.  
Together, they ran up the stairs as quietly as possible. "Split, then regroup outside," Ennis whispered.  
David nodded, and Ennis ran off to the left. David turned and went the opposite way, with the footsteps coming from a center tunnel. He hesitated for a moment. "I'm going to regret this," he muttered to himself.  
David turned back and went to the beginning of the tunnel, where all three converged. He crouched down a corner, pressing himself against the wall. Thank God for the darkness of the tunnels. He slowed his breathing, listening to the footsteps get louder and louder. The waiting got harder and harder as the footsteps got louder and louder. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the people to whom the footsteps belonged came out of the tunnel and entered the room.  
Aaron Brook and Drew Reeds entered. Aaron looked extremely pissed off, while Drew had the look as if the Devil himself had gotten out of Hell and were following him. "I'm telling you, they lied to you," Drew was saying as they entered.  
"I honestly don't give a shit if they lied to me," Aaron cut him off. "You're still terrorizing a town on your search to find someone you think killed Irv, when the crazy bastard probably just killed himself."  
Drew didn't respond at first, but David could see the cold anger that filled his eyes at Aaron's words. "Irv wouldn't do that," he said softly.  
"Like hell he wouldn't," Aaron scoffed. "You two may have been the best of friends, or so you claimed, but I knew Irv long before you were even in the picture and there was no one crazier, no one more often considering suicide just for the hell of it, and once his son was killed...well, it was only a matter of time."  
"His son was killed by monsters!" Drew exclaimed.  
"And so Irv deserved revenge, not going around killing everything on sight that happened to resemble a werewolf. We kill when they get into trouble, not before they do anything."  
"That's bullshit," Drew muttered.  
"Is it?" Aaron looked at him. "If we went by your way of thinking, I'd probably would have killed you by now. Now, I hate monsters as much as the next person, but we don't kill them before they do anything. When they start raising trouble, then they get, what's the term they use nowadays? Ganked. That's the way my family has done it, that's the way this group does it. I don't want anyone else coming up to me and saying they were attacked by you and your brother and anyone else ever again, true or not, got it?"  
"Yes, sir," Drew muttered.  
"Good," Aaron said. "Because it looks like your friends aren't down here after all, like you said they'd be. Next time check before wasting my time."  
Aaron turned around. As he did so, David could see him slipping his gun into the back of his jeans. Drew didn't move; instead, he was staring down where David and Ennis had been mere moments before. "He didn't kill himself," David heard him mutter himself. "I'll prove it, those bastards did it, and I'll prove it."  
David held his breath. Drew didn't move for several more minutes, even when the sound of the door opening echoed through the tunnels, signaling Aaron's departure. Eventually, Drew turned away. He stared at the tunnels for a moment, his eyes sweeping back and forth. David froze as Drew's eyes came above where his head was, thankful that he was crouching instead of standing. "I know you two are there," Drew said softly. "You won't get away with this. Even if I have to kill you and by doing so get killed in return, you won't get away with this." With that, Drew vanished the way he had come.  
The silence that followed was deafening. The telltale sound of Drew leaving did little to reassure David. Slowly, he got up from his crouching position and walked out of the shadows. There came a sound from behind him and David whirled, his hand going for the knife in he hadn't taken from his pocket. Ennis was behind him, his hands raised. "Just me," he said.  
"Good, did you hear that?" David asked.  
"Yeah," Ennis said. "Guy gets more and more psycho every time I see him."  
"That's what grief does to you," David said quietly.  
Ennis shot him a look. "I know," he said simply.  
They were quiet for a moment. "So, looks like the Aaron plan was a failure," David said, running a hand through his hair.  
"Not necessarily," Ennis said, raising a finger.  
"What do you mean? All he did was warn Drew off!" David said.  
"And said that if he ever did something like this again, there'd be dire consequences," Ennis reminded him.  
David thought for a moment, then the plan dawned on him. "Oh," he said. "I really don't like this plan."  
"Well, I didn't like yours, so now it's my turn," Ennis said abruptly.  
"Ha ha," David muttered.  
"But what's drastic enough for Aaron to take out Drew?" Ennis wondered.  
"Well, he knows now that I'm a shapeshifter, so he wouldn't care if I was killed," David pointed out, turning to face Ennis. "You however, you're still a human. And one who wants to be a hunter, no less."  
"Used to want," Ennis muttered.  
"Whatever," David waved his hand. "Point is, if he thought Drew was going to kill a potential hunter, in his mind, then it wouldn't be much of a problem would it? Not if Aaron is as cold and calculating as he appears to be on the inside."  
Ennis rubbed his forehead. "All right, so, we do something to really piss Drew off more than normal, and then what? He comes after me, Aaron finds out, and then he puts an end to Drew?"  
"Not just pissed, truly and utterly mad," David said. "It's not easy to take a fellow hunter, no matter who it is, so it'd have to be a last option. Even better if we can make it seem like Drew turned to the 'dark side' as a last resort to kill us, so that it makes it even easier for Aaron."  
Ennis looked at David. "I don't know whether or not to be impressed or scared with your tactical brilliance," he said.  
David shrugged. "My sister was always plotting something or other, it rubbed off on me."  
"Well, it's coming in handy now," Ennis said.  
They started heading back to the center of the tunnels. "Aaron's in a bad mood now, so it'd be best if we do this as quickly as possible, I bet," David suggested.  
"No, I don't think so," Ennis contradicted. "He's mad now, but if we bring it up again in a couple of days, he'd be even madder that Drew didn't listen instead of if he rebelled right off the bat."  
David tilted his head, thinking, as they headed down the stairs. "Makes sense," he said finally. "Let's just hope nothing else comes up in Aaron's life that distracts him from this."  
"That'd be inconvenient," Ennis agreed. "If there was a way to find out his schedule, that'd be wonderful."  
"Yeah, it would be," David sighed. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to play it by ear."  
"I'd say, let's do it in two days," Ennis said, pulling out his phone. "There's nothing going on that day in the majority of society, so someone like him would most likely just be relaxing, waiting for a trouble such as our predicament to come along."  
"Perfect," David grinned. "In the meantime, let's go piss off Drew and his crew."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ennis glanced around. Charles and Melissa were pacing back and forth outside of a church across the street. Ennis sat across the road on a bench, with his hat pulled discreetly over his eyes. They weren't paying him any mind either way. Drew was inside, Ennis had gathered, praying for who knows what. Most likely, revenge. Ennis glanced around again. David was at the hunter's apartment, trashing it as best he could without calling attention to himself. Naturally, the shifter was disguised as one of the crew so he would be able to get in and out without anyone who saw him knowing what he looked like, but there was still the security cameras to worry about.  
Nevertheless, it was being done. Ennis moved his phone around in his hand, watching and waiting. Drew would have to come out eventually, and when he did, it was time to let David know to get out of there. And after that, well, then it was Ennis' turn to have a little fun. Ennis adjusted the shades on his face. Wouldn't do to have people recognizing him if they saw his eyes.  
Eventually, Drew excited the church. There was a wild panic about his movements, the way he talked to his brother and Melissa. Ennis watched as Charles tried to place his hand on Drew's arm but Drew threw it off, exclaiming excitedly. Far away as he was, Ennis couldn't hear what he was saying, but by the looks it, it had a very profound effect on his companions. Charles shut down completely, and Melissa stepped away, horror written across her face.  
Ennis leaned forward incredulously as Melissa slapped Drew across the face. He didn't respond, and Charles grabbed Melissa's arm before she could do it again. Ennis whistled, putting the phone to his ear after dialing David's number.  
"Yes?" David's voice answered.  
"I'd get out of there now," Ennis said. "And I think that our job just got slightly easier."  
"Oh?" David asked.  
"Looks like Drew just made enemies of Charles and Melissa," Ennis said, watching as Charles stepped to Melissa's side.  
"That's awesome," David said. "What happened?" There was a muffled murmur that Ennis couldn't make out and David's voice said, "thank you, no, that's fine, have a nice day," before there was the sound of a door shutting.  
"No idea," Ennis said, standing. "Drew just came out of the church in a panic, said something, and then Melissa slapped him across the face."  
"Damn," David chuckled. "Is he pissed?"  
"Not at all," Ennis noted. "More like he's not surprised and resigned at the same time."  
"Huh. Must have been one a hell of a thing he said to her. Any clue what is was?"  
"None whatsoever, except that maybe it was about Irv and what Aaron said about him."  
There was silence on the other end of the line. "You'd think they'd all be like Drew, furious that they can't avenge their friend," David pointed out.  
"Yeah, you'd think," Ennis muttered. "Unless..."  
"Drew's the only one who's really here because of Irv," David finished.  
"That would explain the other two's reluctance," Ennis breathed.  
"And why there's only three of them. Irv was considered a mad man, Charles and Melissa probably were the only people who would humor him to come here to Chicago."  
"Why would Melissa come then?" Ennis wondered. "Charles is his brother, so that explains that, but why Melissa? They said she was just a friend."  
"Oh, I don't think Charles considers her 'just a friend'," David snorted. "The way they act around each other when Drew isn't there, there's definitely something going on there."  
"And so she came to be with Charles." Ennis nodded. "It fits."  
"And now the team is falling apart," David sounded satisfied. "That makes our lives easier."  
"Way easier," Ennis agreed. Charles put his arm around Melissa's shoulders and pulled her away from Drew and she stepped up to presumably slap him again. He cast a look over his shoulder at his brother, but Ennis was too far away to see what he was trying to convey. Drew simply watched them leave, waiting until they turned the corner before his shoulders slumped and he turned away.  
"They're gone," Ennis said.  
"I can see that," came David's voice from simultaneously in his ear and from behind him.  
Ennis whirled around and found David grinning at him as he hung up the phone. "How the hell did you get here so fast?" Ennis demanded.  
"Perks of being a shifter, some people are incredibly fast runners," David smirked.  
"Great," Ennis said, looking him up and down. David didn't even look like he had broken a sweat.  
"Well, since you're here, you can be useful," Ennis said.  
"Oh good, I was worried I wouldn't be," David murmured.  
"Save it, smartass," Ennis said, not unkindly. "We need to figure out where Drew's heading and what his plan is, that way we can stay one step ahead of him."  
"That's a good plan, but the only thing is, how are we going to accomplish that?" David asked.  
Ennis opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, there was a beeping sound from David's pocket. David frowned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone.  
"Oh thank god," Ennis breathed. "I thought that was going to be a bomb for some reason."  
"Yeah, you and me both," David muttered. The beeping sound cut off as David answered the phone and put it up to his ear, frowning.  
Ennis couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but what he gathered from David was that it was an unwelcome and unexpected call. Whoever was calling was definitely a friend, from the way David attempted to be polite, but whatever the subject was it was sensitive and it was also something David didn't want to talk about, at least in front of Ennis.  
"No, Richard, it's fine," David was saying. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I was busy doing some things...nothing you or anyone else needs to worry about." David listened to whoever Richard was, and eventually he let out a sigh. "Yes, I know that, and I don't blame you, but...look, I'm in the middle of something and I need to go. I'll discuss this with you and them later." With that, David hung up the phone.  
Ennis raised his eyebrow. "Damn," was all he said.  
David glanced at him. "Family," he said as an explanation. "Nosiest people I've ever met in my life."  
"Isn't that why we have them? For them to be poking about in our business?" Ennis said, half joking, half curious.  
"Is it? My family has been exactly normal, so I wouldn't know," David said, his tone light.  
"My family's the same, always wanting to know what I'm doing. It's completely normal," Ennis said. "So, what was that about?"  
David shrugged. "Nothing important," he said dismissively. "Just wanted to know what was going on the past day or so."  
"Ah, yeah," Ennis said. "That'd be kind of awkward to explain."  
"Yeah," David said, relief evident in his voice.  
"Who's Richard?" Ennis said, the urge to press on suddenly overwhelming. Hopefully, this wasn't as sensitive a subject."  
"Just an old friend, no one to worry about," David said quickly.  
Ennis nodded, recognizing that David didn't want to talk about him either. Damn. Hopefully it wasn't something that would affect their situation. Speaking of their situation, they were right in the middle of it. Ennis glanced to where Drew had been, and felt a jolt as he realized that the man was gone. "Crap," he said, his voice beginning to rise a little in panic. "Where's Drew?"  
"Right here," said a voice behind them.  
"Of course," Ennis muttered to himself as he turned around.  
Drew was standing here, arms crossed. "You shouldn't have come here," he said.  
"Why? You going to try and kill us in the middle of a public place?" David said, mimicking the crossed arms position.  
Drew simply looked at him. Ennis shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to move in front of his friend.  
"There would be nothing I'd want to do more," Drew said smoothly, all signs of his losing it gone from before. "But unfortunately, I do not want to draw any more unwanted attention to myself, so you're safe for now," he added.  
"Oh, what a relief," David said sarcastically.  
"It should be, actually," David said. "Well, that's it for now, boys. Have a nice day."  
"You too," Ennis muttered, more out of habit from his mother than actually meaning it. Drew turned away and walked up, slipping into the crowd that was beginning to form as people left the church.  
"Well that was inconvenient and ultimately useless for both sides," David said dryly.  
"He wanted to make a point. He made it," Ennis said.  
"A stupid point," David muttered under his breath.  
Ennis raised his eyebrow at his friend. David shrugged. "I don't speak eloquently all the time, sue me," he said, though his voice light.  
"So, now onto planning the next stage of this endeavor," David said, sounding resigned.  
"And we better come up with a good plan, one that gets rid of Drew once and for all, no matter how," Ennis said grimly.  
"He won't give up otherwise," David agreed, all humor gone.  
"No, he won't, and neither will we," Ennis said firmly.

******

Drew walked off, his back erect, not allowing himself to glance back. Inside, emotions whirled within him like a hurricane. Anger, hurt, betrayal, but there was also hope. Hope that he would finally get his revenge against those two sons of bitches, whether or not his brother and his girlfriend helped him or not. Drew chuckled to himself. His brother and his brother's girlfriend. They thought they were being subtle, but they were wrong. Especially to a hunter of Drew's caliber, it was obvious what they were doing.  
That didn't make the betrayal sting any less, however. Why couldn't they understand how important this was? One of their own had been killed. Just because the one who was involved was a human didn't make it any less of a crime. The other one was a shifter! This wasn't something to just brush under the bed because Irv had gone a little crazy and Drew was the only one who had stood by him until the end. There was no reason for this, and Drew was going to prove it.  
First, he was going to have another talk with his brother now that everyone had cooled down. Drew reached into his pocket, turning a corner and heading away from the bastards that were surely going to try something to save their sorry skins. "Charles," Drew said flatly once his brother picked up. "Meet me at the park, as soon as possible." He hung up before his brother could answer.  
Drew loved his younger brother, but there were something's that he didn't understand. What you have to do when one of your own is killed was one of them. Drew found his thoughts going, as they tended to do these days, to when he first met Irv. Irv and Drew hadn't been the best of friends. They had their clashes, and Irv had been somewhat separate from the hunter community ever since his son had been born. He had claimed the life wasn't one that he wanted for his son. Drew knew that sooner or later his son would be dragged in, but he hadn't imagined it would be like that.  
At his son's funeral, Irv had been quiet. Drew didn't know what happened to Irv's wife, but she wasn't around, that he knew. Irv hadn't said a word as they lowered his son's body into the pyre to be burned. But he did say something later. Drew took him out to the bar run by the Harvelle's, to drink a few pints before forcing himself to move on. But Irv didn't move on, and Drew could tell he never would. Before he'd even had a drink, Irv had been swearing up and down that he would kill every single monster out there. Not just the wolf that had killed his son, but everything. This would never happen again. No matter whether or not the monster was guilty, no matter whether or not it had just happened or if it had never killed, Irv was going to kill them all.  
The talk, no matter how drunk he got, never ceased. And as he listened, commenting here and there, Drew found himself beginning to agree. Why should they wait for someone to be killed before getting rid of the problem? Why not get rid of the seed that'll eventually grow to become a weed?  
The thoughts grew only more prominent as time went on. Soon, Drew found himself hunting with Irv. Well, hunting while being with Irv. Irv was deadset on hunting the monster that killed his son and was blind to everything else. As they passed through towns hunting the werewolf, Drew did what needed to be done as he came across one of the monsters.  
However, the justice he did there was nothing compared to the justice he could do since he came here to Chicago. So many of them in one place, distracted by their own struggles for power. How easy it would be to take them out, one by one, and watch them blame one of the other families.  
But first, he had to take care of Irv's business. The man needed to rest easy, and the only way to do that was to kill his killers. The plan was fairly simple, surprisingly enough. It was a simple bait, lure, and kill, one that had worked many times and was guaranteed to ensure pleasure while it was going on. One of the more fun plans, if Drew was honest with himself. While hunting in itself was exhilarating, there were certain plans and certain kills that were so much more satisfactory than others.  
Drew entered the park, which was thankfully occupied by very few people. The wind blew through the trees, rattling the leaves and chilling people to the bone. Drew settled on a bench that was set aside from the main area of the park. He didn't sit there for long before two men walked up and took a seat next to him.  
"You're late," Drew said drily.  
"We're here before your brother, are we not?" the first man said testily. He adjusted the hat on his head, glancing around. He was younger than his companion, blond hair, and a sly look about him. His companion was a much older gentlemen, one who seemed disinterested in the world around him. However, Drew knew that that was just an act.  
"You are," Drew agreed. "Do you know why you're here?"  
"We're the worm on the hook," the second man, annoyance coming though his quiet demeanor.  
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way," Drew said smoothly. "You're the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, shall we say? The wonderful prize, but not as simple as it appears."  
"I hate metaphors," the first man muttered.  
"I hate their numbers right here," Drew ignored the first man, handing each of them a small slip of paper. "Tonight, give them a call. Desperate is key."  
The two men took the papers and put them in their respective pockets. Then the older man stood. "We're done here?" he said testily.  
Drew raised his eyebrow. "Why? You have somewhere to be?" he asked.  
The older man scowled. "No, but I don't like betrayal like this," he said.  
Drew waved a hand. "You barely know him, it's not betrayal. He betrayed you by siding with his friend. And also, if anything, your friend over here," he indicated the younger man "is the one who should be feeling like he's betraying."  
The younger man shifted uneasily. Drew smiled reassuringly. The younger man was one of them, one of the monsters. He knew Drew hated him, but what he didn't know was that as soon as their business was done, Drew wouldn't hold back. He had known that he would be useful, and so the young man was a means to an end. But as soon as that usefulness had ended, well, then Drew could finally set things right.  
The young man stood up and coughed, taking a few steps to be. "I have to get back to work, otherwise someone might get suspicious," he said warily.  
Drew nodded. "Good man, I appreciate you coming out here," he said warmly.  
The man hesitated, then turned and walked briskly away. Drew turned to the older man. "I assume there won't be any problems?" he said.  
The man looked Drew in the eyes, and then glanced away. "No," he said, quietly, but firmly.  
"Good," Drew said. "Then go."  
The man threw a dark look his way, but Drew ignored it. The man may hate him, but Drew was doing him a favor. He was doing the whole world a favor. They may not realize it now, but someday he will.  
It wasn't long after the man left than Charles and Melissa showed up. They walked slowly, as if trying to decide whether or not they wanted to turn around before it was too late. However, they approached him. "Drew," Charles said warily.  
Drew let a grin grow on his face. "Charles!" he exclaimed. "You came, I can't tell you how grateful I am." Drew threw his arms around his brother, grabbing him in a hug. "And Melissa, you look wonderful, thank you so much for coming," he added, shaking her hand profusely.  
Melissa hastily withdrew her hand after Drew had stopped shaking it. "Why did you ask us here?" she asked.  
"I wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings between us," Drew said. "I was thinking about what you said, and you're right. I'm going too far, there's no reason to hunt these boys down, especially since they haven't done anything besides kill an old friend."  
Charles opened his mouth to say something, but Drew held up his hand. "A joke, simply a joke," he said, though inside he was burning. "To make up for what I've put you through these past few days, I've decided to give you two a well-deserved vacation."  
Charles raised his eyebrow, not unlike how Drew had done it before. "A vacation?" he said incredulously.  
"Of course," Drew said smoothly. "One trip to Jamaica, just for you."  
The two regarded him with suspicious looks. "What?" Drew said, innocence coating his face. "A brother can't try to make things work out between his brother and his friend? I'm trying to be kind here, and this is the best thing I can do for you two. If you don't believe me, just go back to our rooms and you'll see that I'm telling the truth. Everything is there and ready to go."  
The suspicion was beginning to fade from Charles' face, but not Melissa's. Of course not. The woman was naturally suspicious of everything, that's what had made her such a damn good hunter. However, it was also getting in the way of Drew's plans. "Melissa," he pleaded. "Go, take a look, and just give me a chance."  
Charles took his lover's hand. "Humor him," Drew heard him whisper, though he pretended not to. "He's trying, we don't want to make this worse."  
Melissa nodded, though she didn't look completely convinced. "Thank you, Drew," she said. "It means a lot."  
Drew nodded as well, once again allowing the grin to spread over his face. "I'm so glad you decided to accept," he said, genuinely pleased.  
He shook their hands again, one at a time. It was getting dark by then, so Drew shooed them off. "Go, go, and enjoy yourselves! There's no need to wait for me, your love awaits!" he called after them.  
As soon as they were out of sight, the grin left Drew's face. He pulled out his phone once more and sent a text that simply read: _they're on their way. _Then he put the phone in his pocket, pulled his coat tighter, and left.

******

Ennis woke to the sound of his phone going off. They were in the underground system, which was surprisingly comfortable. David muttered something and rolled over while Ennis frantically searched for his phone. Eventually, his hand found it. Ennis answered it while moving away from where his friend was sleeping. "Hello?" he said sleepily.  
"Ennis," his father said.  
All sleepiness vanished in an instant. "Dad?" Ennis gasped, desperately trying to keep his voice low in spite of the shock. "How did you get this number?"  
"White pages on the internet, you can get anyone's number," his father said. "Ennis, listen, we need to talk."  
"I don't think that's a good idea, since you pulled a gun on my friend," Ennis said.  
"I'm sorry about that, your...friend, took me by surprise," Michael said hesitatingly. "But I want to make it up to you, please."  
While Ennis considered his response, he heard David's phone go off. There was a muffled curse from his friend, then the alarm cut off. "Hello?" he heard David mutter grumpily. "It's like two in the morning, what's going on?"  
"Ennis?" his father said, drawing Ennis' attention back to his own phone conversation.  
"What do you mean, 'make it up to me'?" Ennis asked.  
Michael hesitated. "Meet me," he said.  
"Meet you?" Ennis said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. "Are you serious?"  
"Yes," his father said, sounding extremely serious. "I need you to meet me somewhere."  
"Okay, where?" Ennis said.  
"Agree to meet me first," Michael said.  
"What?"  
"Agree to meet me, and then I'll tell you where."  
"Uh, okay, I agree."  
"Good." His father sounded relieved. "Meet me at that bagel shop your mother used to take you to as a kid."  
"Wait, how do you know about that?" Ennis asked. His father had left long before his mother had started taking him there.  
"I told you, I looked out for you," his father said. Then there was silence as his father hung up.  
Ennis let out a breath. "Okay then," he muttered.  
"Ennis?" he heard David call.  
"Coming," Ennis responded, heading back over to where their stuff was.  
"What was that?" David asked.  
"Just an old friend who decided to check up on me at the wrong time," Ennis said, his stomach twisting with the lie. "What about you?"  
"Richard," David said. "Something's happened at home, and he says I'm needed for some reason."  
"That's odd," Ennis said. "The two calls coming in at the same time like that."  
David shrugged. "Probably a coincidence, your friend didn't need anything, did he or she?"  
"He, and no," Ennis said.  
David stood and grabbed his stuff. "Then it's probably nothing," he said, stuffing a dagger into his jacket. "I'm going to go head home really fast, I'll be back in no time. Richard's probably panicking over nothing."  
"Yeah, probably," Ennis agreed. He watched as his friend begin to head up to the surface. "Be careful, okay?" he called.  
David turned back around. "Yeah, you too," he said after a moment, a look of confusion crossing his face before he resumed heading upstairs.  
Ennis waited until he was sure David was well away from the entrance before leaving himself. He brought his gun, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it. Then he left their "home" and headed to the bagel shop his mother used to take him to meet his father who had risen from the dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

David knocked on the front door, though he didn't know why. It was his house, but there was something off. Maybe Richard hadn't been exaggerating at all. He had seemed panicked, though he tried to hide it. David could tell, however. He'd known Richard too long not to know when something was wrong.  
There were was movement on the other side of the door. David frowned, and tried the door. Locked. He was just reaching in his pocket for the key when the door opened. Richard was standing there, looking way calmer than David would have expected.  
"David," Richard said, holding the door open. "Thanks for coming, man, I know it was short notice but we need your help."  
"Sure, no problem," David said. "What's up?"  
"It's something that I need to show you, explaining it would take way too long," Richard said, shutting the door behind David. David, preoccupied with wondering what could possibly be happening, didn't notice Richard locking the door and slipping the key down the air vent in the floor.  
"Where is it?" David asked.  
"This way," Richard said, putting a hand on David's shoulder as he went by. David watched his friend curiously. He was definitely not in the same panic as he had been on the phone.  
"I'm sorry I couldn't have told you what happened, but I thought you'd want to see it for yourself, instead of simply hearing the words," Richard said as they went up the stairs.  
"Rick, what's happened?" David said warily, his own panic beginning to increase.  
Richard didn't say anything, merely led him to his father's room. David looked at his friend as he entered, then his gaze fell onto the bed in the middle of the room. Horror washed over him, accompanied by dismay. Shock came next, paralyzing shock. "What..." he whispered.  
"I'm so sorry, David," Richard said softly.

******

Ennis blew on his hands, attempting to keep them warm. "Come on, come on," he muttered angrily. Who knew how long David would be, and if he got back before Ennis did, then David would know Ennis had lied to him. If his father didn't appear in the next ten minutes, Ennis would leave. This was ridiculous.  
Just as Ennis was about to give up, he spotted a man coming towards him. Pausing, Ennis recognized his father. "It's about time," he muttered.  
"I know, I'm late, I'm sorry," his father panted. "Something came up that I had to take care of."  
"What was it?" Ennis asked.  
"Just business, don't worry about it," his father said dismissively.  
Ennis frowned. "So, why did you want to meet, Michael?"  
Michael winced at the use of his name, but he didn't say anything. "I just..." he hesitated. "I just wanted to apologize."  
Surprise flared in Ennis, but he didn't let it show. "For what?" he asked.  
"For everything," Michael said. "For abandoning you and your mother and sister as a child, for never checking up on you, or not being there, for the way I came back, for attacking your friend, for everything I've ever done. Just for everything. And everything that's going to come."  
Ennis attention snapped to the last couple words. "Everything that's going to come? What the hell does that mean?"  
"I'm so sorry, Ennis," Michael whispered, backing away.  
Ennis advanced on his father, but two other men appeared at his side. All dressed in black. "Shit," Ennis muttered. "What the hell did you do?" he shouted at his father.  
Michael just shook his head, staring at the ground. Suddenly the man who had seemed strong seemed to be as frail as a mouse. He stood back, as if he couldn't bear to be near his son.  
"What the hell did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" Ennis screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt someone grab his arms. Then his instincts took over.  
Ennis elbowed the man standing to his right and then when the man doubled over kneed him in the groin. He then turned to the man who was standing to his left. The man took out a knife, but Ennis was too fast. He rushed forward, pushing the knife out of the man's hand and throwing him to the ground. He was about to punch the man when he felt a prick in his neck, and became aware of another three guys behind him. Knowing what that prick meant, Ennis threw himself away. Too late, he remembered the gun in his pocket.  
His father had moved forward. As Ennis dropped to his knees, Michael ran to his side and grabbed his hand. "Ennis, I didn't meant for this to happen, you should have listened, I could have helped you," his father was murmuring over and over.  
Ennis ignored the blackness that was creeping in the corner of his vision and grabbed his father's jacket, pulling him in. Taking the last strength he had, he leaned in. "You should have stayed away, you bastard."  
And then there was nothing.

*******

Drew threw down his phone in disgust. Michael Ross was more trouble than he was worth, Drew decided. He nearly ruined everything with his speech about being sorry. Ennis was nearly able to get away, because of that. He knew something was up, and everything was almost destroyed because Michael was a terrible father and felt guilty about it. It certainly wasn't where Drew had been expecting the problems to be coming from.  
No, he had been expecting Richard to be much more of a nuisance. Not only because he was a shifter, but because he and David had been friends for so long. That kind of friendship was hard to destroy, but apparently David leaving three years ago had had more damage than either had thought. And all of a sudden, Richard found himself resenting his childhood friend. Drew smiled. All the better for him.  
Drew chuckled from where he sat. He was in their motel apartment, with a nice bottle of wine open next to him. His phone lay in front of him. His phones, to be more precise. Each one for a different agent of his. Drew delighted himself in how many contacts he had. They weren't hunters, but they didn't ask questions all the same. So long as they were paid, the work got done. And that was the way Drew preferred it. Hunters tended to have a moral code when it came to humans, and they were less understanding, despite the crime.  
The phone in front of him began to ring. Richard. He better have some good news, Drew reflected. After what Michael did, he preferred not to have any more hiccups in the plan. "You better have good news," Drew said when he answered.  
"He's in his father's room. Completely shell shocked. Shall I bring him?" Richard's voice came through.  
"Good work. The location we discussed earlier. Make sure nothing happens on the way," Drew kept his tone icy.  
Richard hung up without saying anything. Good. He wouldn't want Richard to have a false appearance of friendship. The man was competent though, Drew would give him that. He would have made a good friend if he wasn't a shifter. The world was ironic that way.  
Drew got up, grabbing his bag full of everything he might need. Even a couple things that he might not, but were still fun to have. Of course, he needed to be careful. The cops were busy right now, but that didn't mean they would be completely negligent. There were limits. There were always limits.  
Drew exited the apartment, taking care to make sure the DO NOT DISTURB sign was on the door handle. Wouldn't do to have maid service coming and seeing anything they weren't supposed to. Drew walked to his car, the keys in his hand as he walked up to it. Trying to appear in a hurry but not too eager, Drew drove down to an abandoned warehouse near the river. This was the perfect location. It was going to rain soon, the sound of which would help drown out any noise they might make.

******

David hadn't moved from his father's side. He knew he should, he should call the cops, his sister, call someone, but he couldn't. His father was lying there, his throat mauled. It looked to be from a werewolf, but he couldn't be sure. His father's face was so pale. There wasn't much blood, as if he had been drained before his throat was cut. His expression was peaceful. That was a small comfort.  
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Richard. "David," his friend whispered. "We should go."  
David heard him, but didn't respond. His eyes never left his father's closed ones. The hand on his shoulder tightened slightly. "David," Richard said firmly. "We need to go. You can't stay here. I've already called everyone that we need to, it's all been taken care of."  
David let the hand guide him to his feet. His eyes still never left his father. "We hadn't spoken in so long," David whispered to himself. "I hadn't said good-bye before I left, he swore to never speak to me again."  
"I know he didn't mean it," Richard said, but his voice was far away.  
David didn't believe those words, something prevented him from doing so. But he allowed Richard to take him down the stairs. "Margo," he said, turning towards the phone.  
Richard grabbed his arm, preventing him from going forward. "I've already called her," he said calmly, though his grip was of iron.  
David wrestled his arm away. "What's going on?" he asked, the haze of grief being shaken slightly with his friend's ferocity.  
"If the wolves killed your father, they might be coming for you next," Richard said. "We need to get you out of here, it was risky enough bringing you."  
David frowned, but he didn't say anything. Something was up, but perhaps it was better to not say anything and give away the fact he knew that. There was a car parked in front of the door, which Richard got into the driver's seat of. David climbed into the passengers, using the seat belt as a disguise for checking his pocket for his dagger. He still had it, good. That would most likely come in handy.  
"I know a place to hide, you won't need to put yourself in danger," David started to say, but Richard held up his hand.  
"I'm supposed to be taking care of you and your family," he said sternly. "Now let me do my job."  
David leaned back, resigned to the fact there was nothing else he could do. They didn't drive for long until Richard pulled up to a warehouse. "What is this place?" David asked.  
"It's a safe place, that's all you need to know," Richard said.  
The warehouse had clearly been abandoned for quite some time. It was a standard wooden warehouse, but the wood was damp and covered in mold. David wrinkled his nose at the smell, but didn't say anything. The walls couldn't be that strong. If he went over and poked it with his finger, David wasn't completely sure that it wouldn't fall down on their heads. There was no way this was a Lassiter sanctioned safe house.  
"I think I'd like to know a little more than that," David said as they walked inside.  
"Well, there isn't much more you'd like to know, I'm afraid," came a voice from the shadows.  
David whirled around to see Drew emerging from the shadows. "You," David spat.  
"Me," David agreed.  
"Richard, what the hell is going on?" David asked, never taking his eyes off of Drew. His hand tightened around the knife in his pocket.  
He didn't need to turn around to see that Richard had drawn his own gun. "I've grown tired, my friend," Richard said softly. "Doing so much for nothing tends to get old fast."  
"Loyalty doesn't count for much anymore?" David commented.  
"What do you know of loyalty?" Richard spat, his tone suddenly and surprisingly venomous. "You left, said you wanted nothing to do with your family. And you left me alone, how is that loyal, David?"  
David said nothing. Deep down, he knew Richard was at least partly right. He hadn't thought much about any of them since he left. He had enjoyed being free from the rest of them. That didn't leave much room for Richard. And now that the consequences and the at least partial truth was present in front of him, David felt the guilt.  
"Richard," he began to say, but Richard cut him off, waving the gun to indicate that he should remain quiet.  
"Don't," he said sharply. "You left and you didn't give a shit. It's the past, it happened, and now we're here. Deal with it."  
There was a long drawn out sigh. "If it weren't for your fantastic skills, Richard, and the fact you got him here without as much trouble as the other guy, I would be quite cross with you. Enough with this dramatic back and forth, and let's get on with that we're supposed to be doing," Drew said, his eyes glinting in the dim light.  
"What are we supposed to be doing?" David asked.  
"You? Dying," Drew grinned. "Me? Enjoying the hell out of every minute of it."  
Richard put the gun to David's back, forcing him to walk forward. "Hands out of your pockets," he snapped, forcing David to obey.  
Drew led the way deeper in the warehouse. It was only one enormous room, but the sparse lighting made it hard to see. When they came into the light, David was able to see two more men in the room, one standing and one sitting.  
The man sitting was Ennis. The man standing appeared to be Ennis' father. "Ennis, you alright?" David asked as they walked up.  
Ennis looked up. There was a slightly dazed look in his eyes, but his attention immediately focused on David. "Damn, they got you too," he said regretfully.  
"That I did," Drew chuckled. "And now, after so much back and forth antagonizing, I finally get to kill you bastards and get revenge for my friend."  
"You know, you sound an awful lot like your friend right now," David pointed out. "Psycho."  
Anger flickered darkly over Drew's face. David stumbled forward when there was a flash of pain in his right shoulder. Richard had apparently hit him the gun. David managed to keep his balance, however, and moved over to stand by Ennis' side. Reaching a hand down, he helped his friend up, casting a glare at Michael Ross.  
"Now, you two have been so much trouble recently, it'll be such a relief to finally be able to breathe," Drew said, emphasizing his point with a long, deep, breath in and out.  
"Then what are you waiting for?" Ennis asked.  
"Patience is a virtue," Drew commented. "If you want to be able to savor a moment, you first have to enjoy the suspense before it."  
David rolled his eyes. From the look on Richard and Michael's face, they weren't in a patience mood either. "Where's your brother and his girlfriend?" David asked. "I don't think they'd like this so much, why don't you talk it over with them first?"  
"Oh, they won't be talking anymore," Drew murmured, running a hand over his tattoo of a gun. "No, they're too busy keeping the police occupied."  
"Let me guess, you killed them," Ennis said flatly.  
Drew turned to him, a look of genuine shock and horror on his face. "Are you crazy?" he asked. "I would never harm my brother, never."  
"You simply got someone else to do it," David muttered.  
Drew glanced at him. "I may have hinted they were in the way. Beyond that, I played no part in their fate, I assure you," he said. Though it sounded to David like he was trying to convince himself, in a way.  
Then it was gone and Drew was back to being himself. "Enough talk," he said, clapping his hands. "Now, we get on to the best part."  
Drew walked to the opposite wall and pulled forward a duffel bag that David hadn't noticed was there. Drew pulled out a large knife, silver, by the looks of it. The metal gleamed in the dim light, making David and Richard both wince. Drew took the knife in his hands, turning it over and over. "This used to be Irv's," he said wistfully. "The old man gave it to me not soon after we started hanging out together. It was a gift his son was going to get, he said, and he couldn't bear the thought of having it any longer. And so he passed it on to me. Quite the honor, it is a beautiful blade." Drew came to stand in front of David, the point of the blade resting above where David's heart would be.  
"Indeed," David said. "Now, let's point that thing somewhere else, shall we?"  
Drew grinned. Then, quick as a whip, he moved. David winced reflexively, but there was no pain. In the space of an instant, Drew turned his body and stabbed the knife, not into David, but into Richard, who had been standing nearby.  
The blonde shifter's eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly in shock. "What," he gasped.  
"You all are monsters," Drew whispered. "I thank you for your help, and here is your reward."  
Richard's eyes flickered over to meet David's, then went back to Drew's face. Anger flashed over his face before they went blank. It was a moment before his body hit the ground.  
There was dead silence. None of those present were able to take their eyes away from Richard's body, even Drew. Michael shifted nervously, perhaps wondering if he was next. The man checked his watch, which struck David as odd. There was no need to know what time it was, was there?  
"Don't worry, Mr. Ross," Drew said, causing Michael to flinch. "You're human, so you are perfectly safe from me."  
David slowly put his hand in his pocket. The knife was still in there, and with Drew's back turned, this would be the one and only opportunity to get out of here alive. Out of the corner of his eye, David saw Ennis notice what he was up to. The man flashed him the smallest nod, moving forward slightly to block his father. Michael didn't notice. His gaze never left the corpse on the ground.  
Drew knelt, placing a finger in the blood that was pooling. "Interesting," he murmured. "Irv always figured that in the worst of the worst, the blood would be a deeper red than in humans. I was never able to find out, as there were always other hunters with me. I had to keep up appearances. But now, I see he was mistaken. It's the same cooler as a human."  
No one responded. David counted to three, silently, and then moved. He pulled the knife out of his jacket and moved towards Drew's turned back as fast as he could. He didn't make it far. Faster than anyone of them would have guessed, Michael moved around his son and grabbed David's arm holding the knife. "I wouldn't do that," the man murmured, his tone dark.  
David fought against his grip, but it was useless. Ennis hissed in frustration behind him. Michael glanced back at his son, a strange look crossing his eye. Then he turned his head away. His hand twisted David's arm, forcing him to drop the knife. It landed in the dirt with a small thud.  
It was only then that Drew turned around. He glanced at the knife on the ground and make tsk noise. "Richard didn't think to check your pockets," he shook his head. "Perhaps he was more useless than I thought."  
Michael forced David to stand back where Ennis was. The two men glanced at each other, their eyes mirroring each other's dismay. "Don't speak," Michael muttered. "And don't do anything foolish like that again."  
The two of them glared at him. Michael glanced away, seemingly unwilling and unable to meet his son's eyes. There was something suspicious going on with this man, David decided. And it wasn't just the fact he had turned over his son to a psychopath who wanted to kill him.  
Apparently, Ennis was thinking along the same lines. "Why are you doing this? What is he offering you?" he asked his father.  
Michael glanced at Drew, then at Ennis, then the ground, but didn't say anything. Drew chuckled. "It doesn't matter what I'm offering, Ennis, you know why?" he asked. Ennis glared at their captor. "Because no matter what I'm offering, he would have taken it. Same as Richard. They hated you, in their own way, or they needed you gone. It was simply a matter of finding that out and acting upon it."  
David frowned. Hate was definitely not the emotion on Michael's face when they ran into him at the cabin. And it was definitely not the emotion on his face right now.  
"But that's beside the point," Drew continued. "Now, now it's your turn."  
Drew walked over to Ennis, the knife once again upward in his grasp. Michael shifted uneasily as Drew placed the knife on Ennis' throat. "Make sure he doesn't attempt anything," Drew said, flickering the knife towards David.  
"Don't, no, stop," David shouted as Michael came over and grabbed him, pulling him back away from Ennis and Drew.  
Drew pushed the knife up slightly, causing a small cut to appear. Ennis tensed, his eyes never leaving Drew's, to his credit. Drew took his free hand and placed it on Ennis' shoulder, forcing him back. "Don't fight," Drew murmured. "I'm too strong for you, we both know that. So just let it happen, it'll be much more peaceful that way."  
"You can't let him do this," David hissed to Michael, desperation forcing him to appeal to what he hoped was left of the man's humanity. "That's your son, your own flesh and blood!"  
The man glanced at David, his grip tensing. For a moment, David thought he got through to him, but then the man glanced away. Frustration coursed through David. There was nothing he could do. At least, not yet.

Ennis spared a glance where his friend and his father were standing. Michael was strong, and Ennis imagined that his grip on David would be painful. Despite that, his friend was fighting against as best he could, though he barely got any traction. The flat of the knife hit Ennis' cheek, causing him to look back at Drew. "Pay attention," the older man chided. "It's not every day you get to feel your life slipping away."  
"Well, I think I'd prefer for that to day to come a little later, if you don't mind," Ennis aid.  
Drew chuckled. "We don't all get what we want, Ennis," he whispered. "We don't get what we want in this world. And, in all likeliness, we never will."  
Out of the corner of his eye, Ennis noticed Michael checking his watch again. He had been doing this for the past half hour, ever since Ennis had woken up in this warehouse. There was no use wondering about it, however. Drew leaned in closer. "Goodbye, Ennis Ross," he murmured.  
"No!" Ennis heard David shout. There was a rush of movement. Wondrously, David had managed to break out of Michael's grip. But he only made it a couple steps before the man had grabbed him again.  
Drew placed the knife against Ennis' neck. Ennis closed his eyes, preparing for the worst and wondering how it would feel. There was a part of him that, believe it or not, was content. He would get to see Tamara again. He would be able to be wither her once again, whatever happened after death.  
The knife began to move. Ennis winced at the pain of flesh being cut apart, but before the knife could slide across the front of his throat, there was a loud bang. The doors to the warehouse blew open.  
Drew whirled around, blood flying from the blade as he did so. "What the hell," he growled.  
Suddenly, there was a flood of people coming inside. So many that Ennis lost sight of Drew, David, and Michael. There was someone in front of him, shining at light in his eyes, asking him if he was okay.  
Drew was being forced to his knees, a man standing in front of him. Ennis blinked, barely able to believe what he was seeing. Aaron Brook stood in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and an angry look over his face. The chaos of all the people who Ennis assumed were hunters prevented him from hearing what he was saying to Drew.  
Suddenly, David was beside him. "What the hell is going on?" his friend whispered.  
Ennis shrugged. "I've got no idea," he whispered back.  
Aaron suddenly moved towards them. "Everyone out," he bellowed.  
Just like that, as quickly as they had appeared, the hunters left the building. There were sounds of cars driving away, but judging on how quickly after they stopped, the hunters had merely backed away.  
"You two get into quick the spot of trouble," Aaron said, standing in front of them.  
"Yes sir," Ennis said nervously. David didn't say anything.  
"Well, that's all in the past. I apologize on behalf of all the hunters in this area that this happened to you. It never should have, and I'm very ashamed that one of my own stepped out of line like this," Aaron cast a glare at Drew.  
Drew didn't say anything, which surprised Ennis. He would have thought the man would be shouting curses and telling Aaron to kill them. "How did you know to come here?" Ennis asked.  
The answer took him by surprise. "Your father," Aaron said. "He wasn't comfortable with what was happening, and, because he owed me a favor, he called it in. If it wasn't for you, you two would be dead by now, I've no doubt."  
Ennis glanced around for his father, but Michael had disappeared. "I don't imagine you'll be seeing him again anytime soon," Aaron said, guessing what was going through Ennis' head.  
"Good riddance," Drew spat, speaking up for the first time. "The man had no sense of loyalty."  
Aaron ignored him. "And now, I'm going to escort you two home, if you want."  
Almost in the same moment, David and Ennis were shaking their heads. "I'd much prefer to find my own way, if you don't mind," Ennis said. David nodding, though Ennis would suppose that it also had to do with the fact he didn't trust the hunter, since David himself was still a shifter.  
"Suit yourselves," Aaron said. "The least I can do is to make sure you're not bothered on your way home."  
"Thank you," Ennis said. David echoed his sentiments, sensing that perhaps it was alright for him to speak.  
The three of them turned. "What's going to happen to him?" David asked, gesturing to Drew.  
"Oh, he'll be kept locked away far from here, don't worry," Aaron said. "He won't be seeing anybody again for a long time."  
Drew snarled as they walked past. There was a look in his eye that Ennis didn't like. As they walked away, they heard Drew mutter: "over my dead body, I won't go down so easily."  
With barely a moment to process, Ennis whirled around. Drew was already lunging forward, his knife in his hands. He had somehow managed to get out of the constraints. The look on his face said he was willing to die so long as there was one less of them walking out of the warehouse. Aaron shouted.  
Before Ennis could blink, David moved forward. There was a flash of metal, and suddenly the two of them were against the warehouse wall. Drew was pressed against the mold, his eyes wide open with surprise. David stepped back, letting his hand lower. In it, Ennis saw, was the knife that Michael had taken from David before. He must have picked it up during the chaos, Ennis thought. The knife was now covered in Drew's blood.  
David stepped back, letting the knife fall from his fingers. Drew gasped, blood coming in at the corners of his mouth. Then he slipped to the floor and lay still. It was several moments before his breathing completely stopped.  
No one said anything. David glanced down at the knife, then at Ennis. When Ennis looked into his friend's eyes, he saw anguish. However, there was a hint of something else. Something that couldn't be named, something that Ennis himself felt. It was dark, but in a strange way, it was good.  
Aaron placed a hand on David's shoulder. David flinched, as if expecting something else. "You saved my life," Aaron whispered. "Thank you."  
David hesitated, then nodded. Thinking back, Ennis realized what both David and Aaron had apparently realized. Drew wasn't trying to kill David or Ennis. He had been trying to kill the man who had prevented him from getting his revenge. If David hadn't moved, Aaron would be the one lying on the ground.  
Ennis shivered. The other hunters had taken Richard's body, but the blood was still on the floor. There was a ton of blood. Perhaps the life of a hunter wasn't what he wanted after all.  
"Come on," Aaron said, motioning for the two of them to follow him. "Let's leave this damnable place."  
And so the three of them left. There was the scent of gasoline, then fire, then there was heat as the warehouse caught ablaze, burning in the middle of the fire. None of them looked back.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Melissa and Charles had been discovered in their rented room around ten that evening. Both had died under mysterious circumstances. The police hadn't released an official record yet, but there was no doubt there was foul play involved. The manager of the motel had said that he had seen three figures leaving an hour or so before the bodies were discovered, but he had no idea who they were. There were no video cameras, so whoever Drew had hired to take out his family were unknown and very, very, good at what they do.  
The warehouse had been burned to the ground. Because of the state of the building, law enforcement wasn't going to open an arson investigation. Since no one had been harmed as far as they knew, there was no need. The building had been an old factor warehouse before it had been abandoned, and the popular theory was that something left there had simply started a spark, and then the old building was a goner. No one was going to miss it.  
Aaron Brook returned to running things his own way. The motorcycle gang cover was still active, though apparently of Drew and his gang used it. Liking the idea, Aaron took it over and made that an active disguise and code for any hunters operating in the Chicago area. Based on the events that had happened, no hunters were to ever harm or disturb either Ennis Ross or David Lassiter. Likewise, the three of them kept in touch, even David, who was understandably wary at first. However, Aaron was more opened minded than some of this fellows and understood that not all supernatural creatures were monsters.  
David returned to his family home. His sister flew in from London, and together they planned a funeral for their father. Ennis was there for moral support, but afterward they didn't talk much, Ennis leaving before David's sister would notice he was there. There was some paperwork to do and other politics to sort out after the death of the head of the shifters, and that took up much of David's time for the following weeks.  
Ennis resumed his investigation into the supernatural. After dropping his police academy training, Ennis decided to focus on figuring out what was really out there. However, he did it with reliable sources. Carver Edlund's books were burned as soon as he was able. Though he wasn't going to be a hunter, Ennis still wanted to know whatever he could, just in case an unusual situation arose.  
The events that happened linked Ennis and David forever. Their friendship wasn't one that would so easily fade. And in the future, that would be quite useful. That, however, is a story for another time. After all, there's always another book, is there not?


End file.
